Breaking the Ice
by RichardElliot
Summary: Breaking the Ice takes place 35 years after the ending of Gen 2. It's set in a universe where the other games DON'T EXIST. Breccia finds herself alone after the death of her father and sides up with Team Rocket in a desperate attempt to get her life back on track. Little does she know, what seems like a fresh start will soon turn hellish. (Cover Photo by Courtnie Uphold)
1. Chapter 1

The lower level of the ship smelled of rancid sea life and oil from the kitchens.

Breccia curbed her appetite on burned coffee, trying to keep quiet so not to disturb the sailors above her. Even with the money she saved and the bit Vanessa sent, it wasn't much.

She was forced to scheme her way onto a merchant boat. (Much to the disdain of everyone on board.)

"Here." A portly cook, the only other women, put a Styrofoam plate on the crate before Breccia. Her broken English was about as intelligible as the food was edible. "Hot mash warms the bones. Birtan wind's will cut through such scrawny thing." Not wanting to be rude, the guest gulped the last of her coffee, swallowing a thin layer of grounds at the bottom. Seizing the plate: the milky, watery mash congealed. A mixture of flour and chopped orans floated to the top. "Well?"

"I-it's..." Breccia swallowed, coughing when a lump lodged in her throat. "Good..."

Her lie must've been convincing, as the cook clapped gleefully. "Swinub makes great portage, no?"

Hearing this, Breccia gagged, pausing with the plate to her lips. "Excuse me?"

The cook clicked her tongue, summoning a tiny striped ball of brown fur. She took it in her arms, squeezing and kissing it's snout. "It's Swinub first time as cook. Such good mash!" The creature snorted, wiggling with delight. "We should be in Birtan within the hour. Keep ear out for captain to call."

Setting her cup down and blowing into her palms, Breccia sniffled, her nose reddened and her breath hovering in clouds above her head.

On the deck, the sailors glared past her. Some gave a degrading sneer, others were nice enough to ignore her.

The captain, an aging man of fifty with matted gray hair, called at the first site of Isador, which looked like nothing more than a frail, white strip. He whistled up to the lone Chatot on the mast, receiving a similar call back before it flew and perched upon his shoulder.

"The wife said you were scrawny." The captain commented as he called for the sails to be drawn. "Seen a lot of mainlanders on this ship. They last a few days before begging me to take 'em back."

Considering all that had occurred, the last thing Breccia wanted (or needed) was more negative attention. It wasn't her first choice to travel with strangers who questioned everything from her sandpaper complexion to her thin build. Had she had her way, she'd be on the S.S Anne.

Though, the cruise liner hardly made trips beyond Unova, and the crew didn't want _her kind_ aboard.

 _One hell of an adventure, huh dad?_

It was the thoughts of her father that brought forth scarce feelings to joy. Her past sometimes made her smile. She was a rambunctious child. She was always getting into trouble or getting into something she wasn't supposed to. Granted, any attempts she made to wander off always ended with his trusty Onix dragging her back.

Her helping him at the clinic got her through the boring slog of life.

The clinic itself was always a point of contention between her parents. Her mother, who was a basket full of crazy, hated the idea of her daughter being away longer than she had to be. For a while she did as she was supposed to, allowing Breccia to visit her father in Lavender on the weekends and in the summer. One day, however, after learning the courts were going to change things to an 'every other week affair', she flipped her lid and fled with her daughter to Alola. They stayed in a hotel for a few weeks before the judge was able to track them down and Breccia was sent to live with her father for good. (Her mother vanished after that.)

Back in the present, they docked, the port town of Isador coming into view. Pale natives went about their business, wrapped in heavy furs. Some stood behind their market stands while their children played in the allies created by their stone cabins. Outside of the black, coal burned smog billowing from the chimneys, the air was crisp and clean.

The street-sweepers were in the process of cleaning the walkway on the main drag. A team of Machokes rolled the snow into massive piles while an out of place Growlithe seared away the mounds of ice with the flames dancing on his breath.

Dodging the masses, Breccia found that, even in a crowd, body heat did little to protect her bones from the razor winds.


	2. Chapter 2

"Took you long enough." Breccia made it to a van, accepting a hug from the lone woman huddled outside. Dressed in multiple layers with a scarf concealing her face from view, she tossed Breccia a more suitable coat. "I tried giving your Transceiver a ring. I wanted to make sure the money got wired."

"It died halfway between Johto and Hoenn." Breccia zipped the coat up to her neck and stuffed her umber tresses beneath a stocking cap. After, she accepted a cup of coffee from the percolator kept warm by her friend's Koffing. "So does this truck float? I thought we were heading to Aurora."

"It's off the coast. Riker wanted us to get your feet wet, so we're taking you out on a job before heading to base."

Jumping from the bumper, a muscular built man grumbled when messing with the fasteners on his snow pants.

"Can't feel my jewels in this Mankey suit." He doubled back, focusing on the ladies. "Nessa and Caleb told us we had another tag along. I wasn't expecting to get her fresh off the boat."

"Yes, well, this TAG ALONG is traveling to the tundra with us. She's gonna see Lars' latest work in action." Vanessa pulled her scarf down long enough to steal a sip from her cup.

"You mean his latest waste of cash." Morice complained. "A year and a half and nothing's come of it. No wonder the boss wants to shut us down."

Both put an end to the exchange when Caleb came into view, retrieving the gloves from his lab coat and bopping his sister on the shoulder. "Alright, Morice, did you check the tire pressure?"

Pausing once he realigned the straps on his show pants, Morice conceded. "Still have a leak on the back left, but it should last us."

"Good. Everyone on board. I want us near Verandi by dusk." Piling in one by one, Breccia was closest to the edge, fastening the canvas closed and sitting on her knees. Caleb refrained from speaking further until they were off the road and riding through uncharted terrain. Morice stayed up front with his Spearow, who hopped about on the dash, flapping its wings and shedding feathers.

"Sorry for the last minute detour." Caleb stretched out on the bench opposite of Vanessa and Breccia, sheltering a yawn in his palm. "How have you been squirt? I haven't heard from you since we left the region."

"I've been around." Breccia answered with the only response she could muster. Too much had happened for honesty. "The captain wasn't too fond of having me on the ship, I know that much."

"He's a salty bastard. He's transported felons before. It isn't anything new." He turned to his sister when she tapped him on the shin with her boot. "What?"

"We've got her out here. You gonna fill her in?"

"Oh yeah. Might be prudent of me." Caleb swung his arm to the left, drawing attention to the pasty fellow sitting with a control panel in his lap. Parts were laying about on the seat beside him as he worked diligently with a screwdriver and wire cutter. "Not sure if you've been introduced, but that's Lars. Morice is in the front seat."

Lars, like many over the past year, sent a frustrating stare in Breccia's direction. "We'd be at the site by now if we hadn't taken any extra stops."

"We'd also be in the black if your stupid contraption had any merit." Caleb doused the tension as soon as it started. "I know you haven't been with us long." He said this directly to Breccia. "But considering your background, Riker thought you'd be better suited here than running grunt work in Cerulean. Our division out here is pretty small, we don't have much of a budget. What labor we do have has been pushed to the breaking point." The truck hit a bump, jostling everyone and sending Morice's Spearow into a squawking frenzy. "We started small: Caterpies and Magikarp mostly. Only a handful died out of the thousands. There's an implant that, if placed at a certain place in the brain, shuts down cerebral function but keeps the Pokemon mobile."

"Cuts down on the labor." Lars interrupted. "Like a light switch, it can be clicked on or off without any lasting effect on the subject. We upgraded to bigger ones, Koffings, Muks, a few Geodudes-"

"Birtan has resources." Caleb continued. "Not much, but we set up shop here for a reason. Until recently, we were an island of commerce. Then the League put a few gyms in the area and export prices went down. The moment the outside world realized what could be found here, we were up the river without a paddle." There was a split second of silence, cracked in half by the backfire from the muffler. "But enough of business, how's the old man? Does he know you're out here?" Once again, Caleb's shin became prime fodder for another kick by his sister. "Ouch, what now?!"

Vanessa grabbed his collar, gagging him as she drew him close. She whispered in a fierce, terse tone. "I told you on the ride here."

"I'm running on five cups of coffee and a twenty minute nap."

"He's dead."

"Wait, you mean Br-" Distressed and ashamed for his insensitivity, Caleb paused. "How did he...when?"

"After my hearing." Breccia broke through. "His lawyer met me during a visitation. By the time I got out, he was gone. " The only thing more bitter than the taste of bile on her tongue was the morning wind biting at her cheeks.

Caleb cleared his throat, ignoring the scorn from his sister. "The site's up ahead. Past the boulder on the left."


	3. Chapter 3

Once her feet touched the snow, Breccia beheld miles of endless, flat terrain. In the distance, she saw the ocean, the surface a soft plane of glass broken by a lone Milotic and a school of Feebas jumping around her. Spheals lounged in close clusters while Wingull's glided on the breeze. Occasionally, they would land on the backside of a cranky Dewgong and be rushed off with a chomp.

"Set the control panel near the truck." Caleb tugged a stocking cap over his ears. "The generator should keep things running, I want everyone to stay back here. Lars, grab the control and your Graveler. Piloswine tend to be temperamental." The subjects, a group of Piloswine, were gigantic mammoths with ivory tusks sharp enough to slice anyone clean through.

"I'm surprised the electric fence kept them in place." Nessa said, twisting a knob on the panel and sending a thumbs up to her brother. "Wouldn't have done a thing to them if they thought to cross it."

"You sure this is safe?" Breccia was answered by Morice.

"They implanted the chips last time we were here. The first tests turned out fine. Riker wanted to send more men but most have been trying to keep all the idiot trainers from poking around."

Caleb approached the Pokemon with Lars at a safe distance behind. From across the tundra, both men were indistinguishable. Caleb's elongated, slender frame stood a few inches taller. Otherwise, they appeared the same in their matching lab coats.

"I have a bad feeling about all of this." Morice said. "The ice is thin enough without all the weight added."

"Give us an hour and we'll head back." Vanessa, clearly use to her friend's complaints, sat on the tailgate with nary a care to give. "Then you can go to the Float and drown in a keg."

"Don't promise me a good time. I have a full shift after this." Contrary to what was said, Morice's disposition was confirmed when an hour passed with little word on when they were leaving.

Then another hour passed.

Then another.

Then another.

His mood soured with each passing second.

It was lifted only when he received a call confirming that another grunt would be covering his rounds.

The monotony of watching the Pokemon run rounds like the gears on an oiled cog was lost on Breccia. She was far too intrigued by the complexities of Lars' invention. It was a marvel to see subjects go from enraged to placated at the touch of a button.

Her father always praised her inquisitive mind. (So long as she wasn't taking apart the dishwasher or destroying the TV remote.)

"I have an apartment near headquarters." While her friend was lost in past thoughts, Vanessa was busy organizing living arrangements. "I don't think Caleb will care. He spends most of his time in the lab."

Unknowing, Caleb was in the middle of directing a few of their test subjects to the west side of the fence when an unfriendly Mamoswine snorted.

"We have a problem." He detached his walkie form his waist and called to Morice. "Turn the volt up to 23. Just a small jolt, I don't want to hurt it." The order was fallowed. "Anytime Morice..."

"I did." When Morice reached to fiddle with the knobs once more, a spark shot forth. He hissed and jerked away. "The damn thing isn't responding." The angered creature snorted once more, going back on it's hind legs. "You guys need to get out of there!"

With the machine out of commission, the other Pokemon were no longer under control and grew agitated. Some began snorting and kicking their legs.

"Caleb!" The last Vanessa saw of her brother was him trying to outrun the stampede. Lars was able to roll under an embankment.

Caleb wasn't as lucky.

He disappeared under the Piloswine's feet as the wall of enraged subjects towards the van.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Morice took Nessa's arm in a vain attempt to flee.

Aware they wouldn't make it, Breccia made a split second decision. Grabbing her friend's pokeball, she pressed the button and sent it flying. "Koffing Self-Destruct!"

The Pokemon did was it was told, illuminating a faint white before exploding. A cavern opened beneath the thin ice and the three of them were cast underground with a landslide of rocks and ice following.


	4. Chapter 4

' _ **The back room of the clinic had that faulty bulb. She'd stare at it whenever she found herself standing on the unforgiving, metallic floor.**_

 _ **"Breccia." Stretched out on the sterilized table, high on ether and breathing shallow, Geodude didn't stir despite her fruitless attempts to gain his attention. When her father came in to check and saw her at his side, he sat his coffee on a near by desk. It was late, the sky nothing more than a black backdrop with the moon serving as the only actor on stage.**_

 _ **"It isn't fair." She had no defense, being caught out of bed past midnight. At the ripe age of ten, life still felt fresh and nostalgic. Despite the fighting between her parents and the constant drama, her young mind couldn't fathom something as mysterious as death.**_

 _ **Of all the ones to lose first, she didn't want it to be her best friend. Since her birth, Geodude served as her partner in crime. He watched her when she first learned to crawl. He helped her get into things after she became a bit more mobile. Her father spent more time scolding him than he did her.**_

 _ **So, when he began to slow up, Breccia chalked it up to old age...then he stopped eating...eventually he could barely move.**_

 _ **Like an embittered woman descending upon her husband's mistress, time was catching up. Seeing him pumped full of drugs cut her deep.**_

 _ **"Life isn't sometimes." It was obvious her father was exhausted and no more thrilled about the situation than she was. "There isn't much else we can do for him."**_

 _ **"But...you can fix anything." At any other moment, Breccia's undying belief in her father's abilities would have been heartwarming. Here, it was bittersweet.**_

 _ **"Broken bones and burns are minor wounds. I'm not a miracle worker."**_

 _ **Eyes stinging, Breccia did her best to choke back the emotion in her throat. "It isn't fair." She repeated her previous statement, unwilling to accept the inevitable.**_

 _ **"I'm sorry sis." Her dad did what he could. It was hard to assure a child who had never experienced heartbreak. As a little girl, she wasn't willing to accept it and thought he was giving in too easily. As a woman, she respected him more for it. "I don't dabble in ethics, if I did...he wouldn't be like this." They stood at odds for a while longer, neither speaking to the other and neither attempting to debate.**_

 _ **After what felt like an hour frozen in time, Breccia was forced to leave. Her father promised her that she would be contacted if anything changed. As she exited, she turned, watching her dad cover the frail creature before hugging it.**_

 _ **When morning came, the table sat empty.**_


	5. Chapter 5 Part 1

For a split second, when she regained consciousness, Breccia saw the gang's truck jutting from the ceiling. Pencils, clipboards and other accouterments were scattered about.

Vanessa was a ways off, lying in a silent heap near her Koffing. (Who was also unconscious.)

"Thank Arceus you're alive." Morice struggled to his feet, sore from the fall. "I thought I was the only one who pulled through."

Unaware until she stood up, Breccia had fallen into a small, underground pond. Her teeth chattering, she scavenged for a coat in the debris but found nothing. When Morice offered her his, she took it without hesitation.

Morice made his way to Vanessa, careful when picking her up. It wasn't until he did so that he noticed the deep gash across her forehead and the odd angle of her arm. "Shit..." He tried to keep his heart rate steady when looking at the tacky blood seeping from the wound on her scalp.

Breaking a clipboard over her knee, Breccia was able to set the bone. She recovered some gauze from the first aid kit (that was tossed about with everything else) and doctored what she could. "How long until headquarters gets suspicious?" She used her teeth to tare the surgical tape before securing the wrap around Nessa's wound.

Morice answered with a shrug. "Caleb told them we'd be out for the better part of the day..." His voice faded. "Caleb...you think he's-" He wasn't given a response and didn't have the heart to finish the sentence. "Here." Pulling out his only Pokeball, he called his Spearow forth, "Here girl." Removing his dogtags, he handed them over. "Take these to Riker. He'll know what it means." Aware of the situations severity, the Pokemon grabbed the chain with her beak and soared through the crack in the ceiling. (She was the only one small enough to fit). "She should have it there within the hour."

"We'll be dead before they get here." Breccia commented, shivering. "If we don't die of pneumonia, we'll run out of air."

"If you have any ideas, I'm all ears." Morice used his empty ball to secure Vanessa's Koffing.

"You have a lighter?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Hand it over." Breccia caught it when it was tossed to her. Flicking the switch, the flame sputtered, struggling to maintain a burn. Walking about the cave, she noticed the light changing to a raging yellow the more she moved towards the eastern wall. Putting her hand out, she felt a breeze. "There's air coming through these boulders. You have anything we can use to dig our way through?"

"There was a crowbar in the back of the van if you can find it."

Her ribs aching from the fall and her lungs crackling with each inhale, Breccia tried to maintain consciousness as she bent over. When she did so, the wind went from her and, for a moment, the world began to fade. She pulled herself from it after seizing the bent crowbar.

The first two rocks moved with ease, opening enough for a person to fit through.

"Give me a boost." She slipped the bar in first. "I'll see if I can't move them from the other side." Morice helped to push her through. The movement served as a tight squeeze on her bruised ribs.

It took every ounce of her energy to lodge the curvature of the crowbar between two boulders. Once she attempted to push them free, she found herself unable.

"Can you fit?" She asked Morice.

Also sore from the fall, Morice cringed at the thought. "It'll be a tight squeeze, but I should be able to."

"Okay..." Catching her breath, Breccia hugged her coat tighter. "Hand Nessa over." Vanessa made it next with Morice following. As soon as he hit the ground on the other side, another rock slide closed the opening. The crow bar was left lodged between two stones.

"Good thing we made it." Morice tried to ignore the stabbing pains along his spine.

Attempting to breath deep, Breccia was met with a rough, ragged cough. The very act of wheezing for air fatigued her.

Guided by the flicker of the cigarette lighter, the group moved through the catacombs at the pace of molasses. Ignoring the drips of water from the pointed crags above them, the only thing they hoped for was making it out alive.

Vanessa never stirred, the large gash swelling and bruising as her friends struggled to traverse the inner working of the underground maze.

"Wait..." Morice's words stopped Breccia in her tracks. "You hear that?"

She glanced up and saw a swarm of silent creatures hanging upside down above their heads. "Zubats." She mouthed, licking her cracked lips. "You of all people should know one when you see it."

"Vermin." Morice whispered. "Watch for droppings..." As they continued, more and more creatures appeared. At first they seemed disinterested in the trespassers. It took a few seconds for the group to realize they were standing in the open maw of an expensive cavern. The ceiling was lined with unfriendly, winged faces.

"Do you have any other Pokemon on you?" Breccia asked, receiving a negative frown.

"None I can use."


	6. Chapter 5 part 2

The next step Breccia took wasn't a solid one. Her foot went down...and kept going. She plummeted into a steep slope. Morice followed with Nessa in tow.

It was a quick descent and they landed on a patch of sharp rocks. Grumbling and swearing like an angered sailor, Breccia picked herself up on shaking arms. Another cough spell hampered her as she pulled tiny pebbles from her palms.

"You okay?" Morice shuffled around for the lighter.

"Be better if I could see."

The search was for naught in the end. With the lighter found floating in a small puddle, their only form of light was rendered moot.

"Your Transceiver still have battery?" Breccia's question was hampered by another cough.

"I've got a bar." It suited their needs well enough. Flipping it on, they realized they'd fallen into a shallow chasm. It led deeper into the cave, a fact that troubled both. It was possible to climb out, but upon every attempt, they slid down the sides. "We either freeze to death or suffocate. Take your pick."

"There's still a breeze coming through the passage way." Breccia said, scrambling to pull Vanessa up along side her. She decided, if she was going to die, she'd rather do so while fighting. Lying down and taking it like a cheap whore was not her prerogative. "It's best we keep going...as soon as you get off my leg."

"I'm not even touching you."

"Then what's-" She stole her friend's phone and shined it down, discovering a nest with several, speckled eggs. Of course the mother, a grounded Zubat, was none too happy and let out a frightful hiss.

Breccia hurried to her feet first, regretting so when her head hit the low handing roof. "Hurry over here, careful not to step on anything."

"It's a Zubat. What's she gonna do, bite me?" Morice paused when he noticed the light from his phone glowing brighter. It was when he turned the screen to face him that he realized it wasn't coming from his Transceiver.

"Move!" Breccia pushed him further into the cave as a blast tore after them. Akin to an explosion, the beam propelled from the creature's maw, leveling the area above their heads. They stumbled down further into the catacomb when the path began to crumble. It fell in on itself and prevented them from tracing back.

"What the hell was that?!" Morice had Nessa over his shoulder.

"I don't think they're supposed to do that..."

"No shit Sherlock." He wiped a cold sweat from his brow. "Don't mess with mama I guess."

"Did you see the way it sat there? Like it's wings were broken?"

"We can wax poetic about it later. Lets get to dry land before my fingers fall off."

"Yeah." Breccia's soaked boots nudged something, causing her to instinctively jet out a hand to stop the man behind her.

"What now?"

"An egg." She collected it in fragile hands. "It must've fallen down with us."

"We'll fry it for brunch later, can we go now?"

Breccia gave a scowl befitting his insensitivity. "Give me your pack." Morice had a fanny pack (or a man pack as he called it). He was so use to it being on his person that it often melted into his clothing.

Tossing out a few empty candy wrappers and a can of mace, the egg was nestled in a cushion of used napkins. There was no way they could place it in it's nest. If they made it out, maybe someone at the lab could set it in an incubator.

The trek continued, each step heavy and each minute bringing more discomfort. Nessa made no noises or attempts to move. Hope was hard to find for either and after turning to another narrow passage, Breccia's health took a dive. The coat about her shoulders did little for the rest of her and when she took a breath in, she was met with a haggard cough laced with blood.

"Hang in there." Morice did what he could to comfort her. When her legs buckled, he was able to slip an arm around her and hold her upright. "If I had the strength to carry both of you, I would."

"I'm fine." Breccia's voice cracked like the ice under her feet. She knew it wasn't fine, but she had little choice. Much like a beaten boxer in a ring, it'd take more than a little red stuff to knock her out. "Look ahead." She pointed with a quaking arm. They both saw a splash of faint light at the end.

Approaching, the outside breeze hit them and filled them with relief.

When they limped through the opening, they were met with a silver land of pure snow. On the horizon, a jitney broke the plain, it's headlights reflecting in the cold, uncaring sun.

"Just in time." Morice managed, heaving a labored breath.

"Yeah..." The lights and colors began to blur as Breccia unhooked the pack from her jeans. After handing it to her friend, her legs slid free. She cough, spewing red spittle on the ice before the world faded away.


	7. Chapter 6

_There isn't enough coffee._

News of the disaster in Verandi reached the island around noon. The moment Morice's Spearow flew into the guard house with her trainer's dogtags, Riker knew something was wrong. By the time they got there, Vanessa was out, the new girl was unconscious and the left side of Morice's rib cage was bruised.

He was the luckiest of them all.

Save for Lars.

 _Lars._

Riker's fingers clenched around the handle of his mug.

Such a waste of time and money. His project wrung them dry of resources and for what? Injuries and death?

Standing at his window with the grounds beneath him, he watched his men come and go. Some struggled through the knee deep snow while ice hung from the gutters. Said ice reflected the sunlight into the office. The light itself did little to warm the frozen tundra.

When they got there, to where Morice and that girl was, she was coughing up enough blood to swim in.

Then there was the Carter twins.

 _The one that's left._

The knock came shortly after, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Arlia." He called over his shoulder to his long time friend, a Blaziken with golden, almond shaped eyes. She nodded before going for the door.

"Sir." Ms. Morre, his secretary and childhood nanny, poked her head in. "Mr. Stotler is on line two.

Riker answered with a sigh. "I'm guessing everyone knows by now."

"You won't know until you answer." The secretary blew a huff of air upwards, whisking a grayed strand from her vision. "I'll bring lunch in at noon. I better see a clean plate when I come back."

"I don't have time." With the phone in his dominant hand, Riker paused with his finger hovering other the button. Glancing up he caught her severe glare and reiterated. "Yes ma'am."

"I better get a yes ma'am. I powdered your butt, remember that." She turned to leave but backtracked. "Tuna casserole by the way. No mayonnaise. Just how you like it." She was given a nod and took it as acceptance. "That boy worries me..." She mumbled this to herself as she trudged down the hall.

Riker waited until he was alone to answer the call. "Yeah?"

"Riker, I-"

"Heard about the mess up already, I'm sure."

The voice on the other line paused. Knowing Stotler, it was to either light a cigarette or take a long drag. "I was just wanting to see if you needed any men. I have a few to spare."

"I'm down two grunts. Lost a Lab worker too." He thought of the great loss that was Caleb Carter and sighed into the phone. "Lost a damn good one."

"How much has it cost you?"

"I don't want to talk finances." Riker knew better than to snap. He and Stotler went way back, back to diaper days. They were neighbors with Stotler's father a high ranking member in the organization. If there was ever a man he trusted, it was Stotler. "Sorry, I'm just frustrated. I thought we had something with Lars' project. Imagine, extra muscle without running out men into the ground...Now the League is setting up gyms and we have trainers poking around in our business." He scraped his bangs into his scalp. As he glanced into the mirror on his desk, he noticed his natural roots showing through the black dye. "...I need to check in with the infirmary. I haven't heard from the nurse in a while."

"Hangover?"

"No, our newest arrival hasn't left her bed. I'm making sure we haven't lost another one." They said a few more words, mostly asinine, before Riker pressed the button to cut the call. From there, he dialed another number and waited for the ring. "Hey I need you to call the infirmary and check on the girl...Also my condolences to Miss. Carter...His death was on our watch, we're responsible...yeah sure." There was a click on the other end. Examining the brewer from his desk, he wondered if he should bother making a third pot.

Lately, he was never sure of what to do.


	8. Chapter 7

When reality first came to her, Breccia kept her eyes closed.

 _I'm in bed._

 _I'm going to wake up, start a pot for dad, then go out on the porch._

She could already see him on the deck. She'd venture out, maybe offer him a mug with hers in hand. He'd make a passing remark about how he preferred tea, but drink it regardless. In the later days of his life, he'd cough between sips.

Their move to Lavender was for the air. It was easier on the lungs.

 _Shale never came by..._

Her father did what was right, stepping down at the gym. It made more time for the clinic and her brother was eager to take over.

 _You got what you wanted._

"Finally, some good news." The nurse, a woman with two extra chins and a ghosting mustache, appeared at Breccia's bedside. She turned to her Chancey at the desk, muttering before going to her patient. "Your fever broke last night. I was hoping you'd come around at some point today."

The room Breccia awoke to was completely white with very few decorative fixings. (Save for an electronic Luxio clock flashing zeros on the wall.) "Where am..." She sat up too quickly and swallowed her sentence when the world spun around her.

"The infirmary dear, you've been out for a while. Try not to strain yourself."

Letting her head soak into the pillow, Breccia took a sharp breath in. As she did so, an exasperated cough escaped. It was as if her lungs were made of delicate paper.

"They-" It came back to Breccia: the accident, the miserable trek through the cave. "M-Morice, Nessa, where are they?"

" _He's_ already back on duty." The nurse plucked a pin form her bun, nibbling on the end before scribbling on her clipboard. "Quite lucky in the grand scheme of things. Only a concussion and few bruised ribs. And to think, you were worse off when they dragged you in here.""

"Nessa?"

"I'm not at liberty to say." Adjusting the saline bag attached to Breccia's IV tree, the nurse shrugged. "I only deal with minor bumps and scrapes. You're the most excitement I've had all year." Tugging a lever on the side of the bed, she helped prop her patient into a sitting position. "You aren't at one hundred percent yet. We'll keep you over night. You can report to Riker later."

"So-" Breccia muttered. "On a scale from one to ten, how bad was I?"

The nurse paused for thought.

"Well, coughing up blood, hundred and three temperature. I had to peal you out of your clothes..."

Upon realizing this complete stranger had seen her in the nude, Breccia felt a heat break across her face. "You... stripped me?"

"Honey, It was nothing. I've seen shit that'll turn a Jynx white." The pudgy woman chuckled. "We'll say nine and call it square." Any other questions asked about the issue near Verandi were shrugged at. Clearly this woman wasn't permitted to answer anything beyond basic health questions.

It would be a few hours later before the infirmary received any information pertaining to Caleb, Lars or the others.

Ms. Morre, on her way home with a full casserole dish in hand, stopped in per Riker's request. Setting the plastic Tupperware container on the desk, the Nurse had little time to thank her. As soon as the container hit the table top, the Nurse's Chansey ripped into it with the fury of a starved child.

"Well. I'd thank you for the dinner. But it looks like I'm having ramen again tonight."

Fastening the last two buttons on her red, fur coat, Ms. Morre brushed her finger tips through the gray strands that fell from her ponytail. "I made more, but the boy refused to eat it. I'll wait until tomorrow to gripe at him. Today's been stressful." She sighed. "With the funeral and all."

Breccia heard this and turned her head to the woman. Deep down, she felt her heart flutter with confirmation that all was not right. "Caleb?"

Ms. Morre was able to make out the faint uttering and frowned. The lines in her forehead deepened as she did so. "Best lab worker we had."

Cupping her face in her hands, Breccia tried to calm herself with deep breaths. This was more than losing an acquaintance. Back in Pewter city, when her old man was alive and well, Caleb was an apprentice at his gym. She and Nessa spent their days in the grass lands near Mt. Moon. She had no friends in Saffron where her mother lived, so when the weekends and holidays came around, she was always frantic to get back.

The Carter's home life was about as functional as she was currently sick. Their father was a pathetic drunk and their mother made Breccia's look stable.

Even after Caleb was caught breaking into the museum and was banned from the gym, her father kept a close connection with the both of them.

Then Breccia's mom took off for Alola with her in tow. By the time the courts dragged her back, her friends were long gone. Nessa sent letters saying they found a "better position" elsewhere. It wasn't until Breccia herself was in trouble that they spoke up and got her where she is now.

"He'll want to hear from her." The Nurse and Ms. Morre's conversation cut into Breccia's grief. "He should be getting a call from..." Ms. Morre cleared her throat. "The Boss. I doubt he'll be kind."

"Surely he knows it isn't his fault."

"I've known the man since my youth. He doesn't care if it's the boy's fault. He expects responsibility and poise." Picking up her plastic container, now licked clean, Ms. Morre gave the Nurse a friendly pat on the shoulder. Before turning to go, she sent Breccia a two second glance.

From there, the door closed behind her and the waiting game continued.


	9. Chapter 8

Breccia was expelled from the infirmary the following morning. Having turned away any food offered, she ignored the gurgling in her gut as she struggled down the steps into Aurora.

The island was nothing more than a frigid, tiny ball of ice. (Much like the rest of Birtan). Aside from the Wingulls floating on the frozen sea breeze, the place was rather quiet. Most of the minuscule population belonged to the 'Organization'. Those that weren't ran the local shops, which consisted of a small mom and pop grocery and a ramshackle thrift shop. The "roads" were trodden paths of dirt with very few sidewalks to be seen.

Walking past a couple grunts patrolling near the infirmary, Breccia tugged her collar around her throat.

"Look who's up and running." Morice was outside in wait, holding a small plastic bag at his side.

"More like limping." Breccia accepted the package when it was offered. "What's this?"

"They found some of your things in the wreckage. Thought I'd swing them by."

Of the meager belongings Breccia brought along, a few shirts and water damaged notebook remained. She figured it was better than nothing.

Morice took her on a small tour of the island, showing her the shops and the apartment complex many of the grunts called home. By the end of it, Breccia's lungs were sore and her legs numb. Morice must've noticed because they took a detour to the local pub shortly there after.

If Breccia had her way, she'd be at Nessa's place. She'd be in bed with the world shut from view.

Instead she let Morice drag her to the bar and regretted it immediately when she was bombarded by a room full of drunks.

With all that had occurred in the short two months since her release from the penitentiary, she felt worn and weary. There wasn't enough liquor in the tiny, one roomed shack to give her the relaxation she needed.

She'd like to say her stint behind bars gave her perspective, but it did little to calm her. For the entire sentence, all she could think of was her father.

She wasn't alone in her cell. She had roommates, though there wasn't much about them that intrigued her.

One was in for a couple weeks due to a domestic violence dispute. She kept ranting about how her mother would regret not paying her bail.

Last Breccia heard of her, she was back in for the 'long haul'. Turns out her mother did regret not supporting her delinquent child. Said child put a bullet in mommy dearests' skull and was facing manslaughter because of it.

Breccia did right in keeping her head down while serving her time. The place was minimum security and the guards did little to chorale any fights that started. Her days were spent in the library. She'd often skip lunch and snitch whatever was left after the cafeteria cleared out.

After eight weeks she was a free woman. They set her loose with a handful of belongings and a class C felony. Because of her record, no one would hire her and if it hadn't been for Vanessa catching wind and putting in a good word for her, there was no telling where she'd be.

"So, where are you staying?" Morice pulled the chair out for her after picking a rickety table in the corner. The place was in shambles with mismatched stools, and a tattered rug across the splintered floor. The bartender was an old, crotchety fellow with an eyepatch and a hook hand.

The yellow, cracking walls were devoid of pictures and there were few beers on draft. If it wasn't for the body heat given by the crowd, the place would've been bitter cold due to the complete lack of heating.

"Vanessa and Cale-" Breccia caught herself. "Vanessa's."

Morice shook his head, asking for his usual when the bartender's Gallade came around to take their order. "From what I've heard, Nessa's inland. Birtan city. They had to break her leg... well, it's already broken. They have to repair the bone."

Not much of a drinker, Breccia ordered the same as her friend, lacing her fingers on the table top and sighing. "She's doing better than I thought..."

"She slipped a disk in her back, messed up her neck." Morice took a large drink from his beer when it arrived. "She'll be lucky if she walks again." He added. "Not to mention the stitches. They had to seal up the crevasse in her head. She'll be out of commission for a while."

Taking a sniff from her glass, Breccia cringed, crinkling her nose. Holding her breath, she took in a gulp and fought her gag reflex. (Morice was buying, the least she could do was finish her drink). "What about Lars?"

"What about him?" Morice snapped. "It was his stupid idea that got us in this mess to begin with." His glass already empty, he called over the crowd and blaring noise for another.

Despite Lars' cold reception of her, Breccia defended him...partially. "Last I checked, Caleb was on board with it too."

"Yeah, well..." Morice exhaled, his breath sharp and quick. "Look, I've never liked the whiny little pipsqueak okay? I've been going on research trips with Lars for the last year and he's insufferable. All he does is complain about how he should be in charge of the lab because he's been with the Organization longer."

Breccia wondered if this meant she'd be taking orders from Lars once she settled into her duties.

She hoped not.

As her mind wondered, she took note when the loud, ear numbing chatter dulled to a quiet murmur as the front door opened.

Morice put a stay on his unrelenting rage towards Lars, darting his vision from Breccia's face to the newest patron that came in.

From where she sat, Breccia's view was obscured by the standing bodies of others. All she could see was the stranger from the neck up. Judging by the obvious red of his roots, his hair was dyed. He was unremarkable otherwise.

She was more focused on the body guards standing around him. The two human's were similar in build, both muscular with one sporting a long, puckered scar running the full length of his left cheek.

The other pulled his sunglasses from his eyes, folding in the arms and clipping them on the pocket of his blazer. The final body guard wasn't a person at all. It was a Blaziken and it stood taller than any other Breccia had ever seen. From a distance, she guessed the creature to be female due to her head crest being smaller. Her fur was a deep, blood red. Though, what stood out the most were her almond shaped eyes, glowing an pungent golden hue. She was both beautiful and terrifying.

"Must've been a rough day if he's here." Morice stopped, letting his glass tease his lips. "I don't blame him."

"Who?" Breccia was impressed how the very presence of this man was enough to silence even the rowdiest of bar patrons.

"That's Riker." Morice appeared put off that his friend didn't recognize him. "He's an Executive. He runs the operations in this frozen hellhole." He murmured at a near whisper. "You would've been a lowly grunt in Kanto if it wasn't for him. He lobbied pretty hard for you."

"How do you know all this?" Feeling a light buzz, Breccia allowed her muscles to fall lax. "You have an ear to the wall?"

"Nessa wouldn't shut up about you coming over. If she could have, she'd have told the entire island." Leaning in, Morice lowered his voice further. "Lemme give you some advice. You do what Riker tells you, when he tells you. He's in good with the boss. You don't wanna piss him off."

"Piss who off?" Riker appeared at their table, his guards in tow. Both Breccia and Morice jumped.

"N-nothing sir." He said nervously. "Just taking the new girl out for a drink. Trying to get her use to the town."

"She didn't have the best introduction." Riker studied Breccia for a second before speaking once more. "Relax soldier." He said to Morice. "If you strain yourself any more, Cliff will have a mess to clean up." The Bartender perked up upon hearing his name. Riker looked to him over his shoulder. "I'll have a number three Cliff." After which he addressed his guards. "You're free to wander. Don't leave the premises." The two humans were more than happy to escape for a drink. His Blaziken, however, was not taken with the idea. Arms folded, she scanned the two bodies at the table, finally settling her eyes on Breccia. Riker attempted, once more, to grant her leave, but she responded with a quick stream of air expelled through her beak. The air came out as a tuft of hot, searing smoke.

Finally managing to polish off her first beer, Breccia was trying her damnedest to be inconspicuous as Riker removed his jacket. "Sorry we have to meet on such strange terms." He said. "The nurse said you were released and I was heading to Vanessa Carter's apartment to speak with you. Lucky for me, I stopped off here first."

"It's-" Breccia swallowed to try and alleviate the strange aftertaste on her tongue. "No problem, sir."

"Yes, well, while I have you, I'd like to change our meeting to earlier in the day. Around nine tomorrow. I have plans that I can't change."

Breccia nodded once more. "Yes sir."

"Good." Waving his Pokemon to follow him, Riker gave both of them a quick goodbye before vanishing into the crowd.

"You handled that better than I thought." Morice gave a shaky compliment.

"You made it sound like he could shoot lasers from his eyes." Breccia received an unstable laugh.

"I figured Nessa would've told you." Cliff's Gallade was making a second round past their table. Morice ordered an plate of wings, taking a moment to peer over at the bar where Riker stood. "He doesn't like to talk about it, just in case someone screams nepotism." Finishing his final drink, he slid the glass to the middle of the able. "The Boss treats him no differently. He gets bitched at like everyone else."

Breccia caught the Blaziken's eye once more and broke contact. "Considering his entourage, I'm guessing he and the Boss are close?"

"Try related." Morice said finally. "His Grandson."


	10. Chapter 9

Considering Morice's warning, Breccia was none too excited to meet Riker. She spent the evening tidying up Nessa's apartment. (Who was a problematic hoarder at best and a complete slob at worst). She also spent the evening keeping watch over Nessa's Koffing, who was injured during the squabble in Verandi.

Upon waking in the morning, she made herself a small pot of coffee, scraping what little was left from Vanessa's dwindling supply. After, she dressed, grabbed the coat loaned to her by Morice and set out for the Operations Building across the way.

Despite her illness, her lungs were on the mend. She still had a nasty cough and there were times her chest felt like tightened glass. Regardless, she was determined to 'keep up the facade' so she could start work immediately. If Morice was right and Riker really had vouched for her, she didn't want to disappoint.

Aurora island reminded Breccia of Cianwood in it's design. Though, unlike Cianwood, which was a city built upon a sandy beach front, Aurora consisted of concrete sidewalks and trodden dirt paths. The salty, warm scent of sand and surf were exchanged for bitter winds.

As she approached the Operations Building, she noticed its complete lack of windows. There was no natural light on the inside. Most of it was illuminated by dimmed scones hanging from the ceiling.

The entrance room was devoid of wall fixtures. The secretary, Ms. Morre, had a few pictures on her desk but little else.

"I'm swinging by the pub after I get off." She was busy chatting into her Transceiver, which was situated between her ear and shoulder. Her Meowth, an Alolan breed, was grooming herself on the desk top.

Ms. Morre continued to prattle on in ignorance of her guest. "I thought I'd get a drink or two...well what else is there to do around here?... I'm heading inland on the 12th...Travessia has the best shops, I need food that isn't bean salad..." Her eyes snapped to the new arrival. "I have to go Jess...Yeah, see you then." Putting her cell in the first drawer, Ms. Morre folded her fingers. "Glad to see you up and about dear. I suppose you're here to see Riker?"

"Yes'm." Breccia's answer rendered a chuckle.

"Ma'am huh? How I wish the other low lives around here showed me such respect." The secretary scratched her Meowth behind the ears when she rubbed against her shoulder.

"She's beautiful." Breccia said.

"I've had her since her egg days." Ms. Morre pulled what looked to be a poffin from her purse, giving it to her companion. The Meowth gave it a two second sniff before devouring it whole. "At least this one doesn't talk."

Breccia's brows came together. "Is that a common issue?"

"Not for us, thank goodness. It was a problem back in the day...mostly because the damn thing never shut up." Ms. Morre smiled. "But you'd have to ask my friend." Her words were nearly drowned out by the purrs of her Pokemon. "Jess use to be such a firebrand, but all the years she spent blasting off into the stratosphere caused a little brain damage." The intercom beeped and Ms. Morre broke the conversation to answer. "Yeah?"

Riker's voice could barely be heard through the static. "Is the girl here?"

"I'm sending her up now." There was another hiccup of static before the line went dead. "Better hurry on up. His chat with Lars must've put him in a foul mood."

 _Lars?_

Hearing Lars had been in before didn't help Breccia relax. This meant Riker was likely pissed and short tempered.

She kept this in mind when clambering up the stairs, deciding against the elevator when she noticed a large group of grunts on board. As she ascended, she counted her footsteps, finally climbing to the top floor and going into the hall with hesitation.

Riker's two guards were standing out front of his room. Neither offered her so much as a glance. From within muffled voices could be heard, though the conversation seemed very one sided. The door cracked and the last dribble of the exchange leaked out for everyone to hear.

"I'm not putting any more time or effort into something that can't guarantee a profit." It was Riker, and Ms. Morre was right, he wasn't happy.

"Yes sir..." Despite not seeing him, Breccia could hear the scathing contempt in Lars' voice. "But if we'd-"

"You're dismissed."

The silence that followed cracked like a whip. Upon leaving the room, his lab coat unbuttoned and his eyebrows furrowed, Lars took one look at Breccia and sent a glare of contempt in her direction. One of the guards attempted to lead him down the hall and he tore his arm away, swearing and stomping to the elevator with his shoulders hunched.

"After all we've lost and he has the audacity to ask-" Riker continued to rant, speaking to his Pokemon as she stood beside his desk. "After all we've lost _this week_." The first to see Breccia when she entered was Arlia, and, as to be expected, she was none too pleased. Breccia was sure that if she had a dollar for every shit look thrown her way in the past few days, she wouldn't be in need of a job. "It's fine girl." Riker talked his Blaziken down, patting the creature's arm when she took a step towards their guest. "Go stand outside with Bruce and Sallis." Arlia obeyed, though begrudgingly. "I apologize for her attitude. If it means anything, she acts that way towards everyone." He drew the curtains on the wide set of windows behind him. After, he turned on the lamp near by. "I made sure to let Lars know you were starting in the lab as soon as possible."

"He seemed-" Breccia swallowed. "Unhappy."

"I terminated his little project." Riker answered. "A year spent and countless of dollars wasted. We have nothing to show for it save for death." Like he had at the pub, Riker examined Breccia. Her umber, knotted ponytail hung off the side of her head and her dusted, tan skin made her stick out among the natives. "I know this region isn't the nicest, and our operation here is struggling to find ground, but I requested you based solely on your past work." He took a seat, inviting her to do so as well. "From what I've been told, your father was a busy man."

Hearing her father mentioned made Breccia wonder if gossip about him had been spreading. (She wasn't fond of the idea.)

"He was a saint in his own way." She answered after a short pause. "I wonder how someone like him managed to make something like me." Her father was a caring soul that did everything in his power to help those in need. He was always a glass half full kind of guy. Breccia couldn't help but feel a pang of regret upon thinking of his accomplishments.

"He was a smart man from what I've heard. A doctor, scholar, former gym leader." Riker leaned forward in his seat. "According to Vanessa Carter, his daughter takes after him in many ways."

"I know my way around a lab." Breccia said. "You're putting too much stock in me otherwise."

Opening a folder on his desk, Riker leafed through it for a moment or two. "Allow me to ask a couple of questions. I'm guessing you met Lars on the way out?"

Breccia nodded.

"If I were to blame him entirely for this fiasco, would you consider that fair?" He asked this as if he already knew the answer.

At first Breccia thought it to be rhetorical, but she responded regardless. "Mistakes happen."

There was a sigh.

"Mistakes are money." Riker said. "Especially for a senior member who has been working in our lab for more than a decade. You don't sympathize with failure, because then it becomes a habit." He pointed to Breccia. "And YOU don't come into my office acting like I made a mistake in trusting your talents. I need confidence, not some shy little brat who's afraid of her own shadow. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir..." The response came at a whisper.

"You begin work tomorrow. You'll be at the lab, at nine, every morning from here on out. If you prove yourself maybe I'll trust you with a Pokemon of your own." He spun around in his chair then, facing his back to her while messaging his temples. "You're dismissed."


	11. Chapter 10

Breccia's fears were realized when she reported for duty the next morning. Not only was she the lone Lab assistant, (AKA a glorified coffee courier), she could hear Lars barking orders the moment she arrived.

The Lab was a small contained area next to the Operations Building. From the looks of it, it appeared to be nothing more than a large storm shed.

The equipment within was sub-par at best and with Lars' experiments being tossed out, the other scientists were pondering what to do next.

"They're heading out to the tundra soon." Lars said to another woman. "We need more Pokemon for new initiates."

"Easier said than done with all the trainers poking around." The woman responded. "It was a mistake for the league to set gyms in these parts. There's barely enough room for those of us who live here."

Breccia entered, her purse over her shoulder and a case of several different coffees in hand.

None acknowledged her, and considering how pissed everyone had been over Caleb's death, she was more than happy to be ignored.

"I put in a transfer request." Two other scientists were murmuring at a table in the corner. The one speaking was a middle aged man with a stock of red hair. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Lars wasn't listening in. (Breccia was busy handing him his latte and tried to appear disinterested.) "If Riker thinks I'm going to take orders from that pompous windbag, he has another thing coming. I'd rather be doing grunt work in Kanto." When he turned to take his drink, Breccia got a close look at his ID badge.

Neil.

"It's no better anywhere else." Neil's friend, Emalene, spoke at the same whisper. She took her decaf green tea and pulled the lid free.

Neil took her comment with little consideration. "Well, at least I won't be freezing my dick off."

"Here." The last of the scientists, the woman Lars had been talking to, handed Breccia a broom. "Name's Tess. It's best you keep yourself busy. You don't want to give Lars a reason to yell at you."

As she took to an area of the lab where the floor was littered with dirt and debris, Breccia kept her head down and her mouth shut.

The day progressed at a Slakoth's pace from then on. Lars and the others made plans to assist in the trip out to the Tundra. Tess and Neil worked on the van for such an occasion.

As for Breccia, she swept, took out the trash, made a lunch run to the local subshop, and kept to herself.

Turning the lights off before leaving that night, she did a final sweep of the area before taking her broom to the back.

Upon opening the door, she was greeted by a dark utility room lit by a single incubation chamber. Inside sat an egg, the same egg she had rescued from the cave in Verandi.

"I forgot all about you." She pressed her hand to the glass. "You're kind of cold...let me check..." She glanced at the thermometer and shook her head. "No wonder. At this rate you'll never hatch." Fishing around for the knob, she bumped it slightly.

She liked to think she knew more about eggs than the average person. It wasn't uncommon for travelers to bring them to her Father's clinic back in the day. Most were Magikarps, some were Pidgeys and Taillows, a few were Pichu's. She recalled a Magby and Mime Jr. at one point. Though the most surprising had to have been the Larvitar Breccia's dad gave to Shale when he took over the gym.

"It must suck...being stuck here all alone." Breccia hung her broom on it's wall hinge. "At least you aren't going on coffee runs..." Thinking about how her life was going, having pissed Riker off and what not, she found it hard to feel pity for herself. This tiny creature had more of a reason to be upset, having been plucked from his home. "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow." The egg, an off white with several spots of orange and green, was the last thing she saw before leaving.

With every day after, through all of errands and cleaning, she developed a habit of checking on her new friend.

As sad and pathetic as it sounded, it was a consistency she could count on. She was basically ignored...by everyone.

Having not heard from Vanessa since her accident, the only other person Breccia saw was Morice. He would swing by the apartment where she spent her evenings cleaning and tending to Vanessa's Koffing.

As _for_ the Koffing, she figured the creature must've known something was wrong with Nessa. Because of this, it had fallen into a constant melancholy.

Breccia would swing by the local mom and pop store to buy their fresh baked poffins on occasion. It would cheer the poor Pokemon up, but the joy was always fleeting.

"She's awake." Morice said, sitting at the dining table with a glass of water in hand. He glanced about the place before kicking his shoes off and chucking them _towards_ the shoe closet.

The apartments in Aurora were all the standard with a bedroom, living/kitchen/dining area and small bathroom. Much like the organization building, the walls were stale white.

Nessa had a few chairs of different varieties thrown about the place. There was also a stone hard army cot in the bedroom and a sheet hung over the window.

It was bare otherwise, save for a small TV that Koffing stayed glued to in an attempt to quell his depression.

"She's starting in Cerulean once they cut her lose. Secretary work." Morice sat his cup down. "It'll be another couple of weeks still. She'll likely be wheelchair bound."

"That's the best news we could hope for." In the kitchen, Breccia was in the process of making dinner. "You might as well stick around for supper. I made too many rice balls and Koffing won't eat them."

"Rice balls?"

"It's all Nessa had in the cabinets." Grabbing a couple of plates, Breccia frisbee tossed them onto the table. "Life gives you lemons, you make lemonade." She sat across from her friend. "Or in this case, it life gives you rice, you make rice balls." She started eating without hesitation. Her stomach was growling and her long shifts in the lab only compounded her hunger. As for Morice, he picked one up, examined it, then sniffed it. "Stop being picky. It's all I have. If you want burgers and fries, go to the diner across the way. They're only open Saturday's and their food sucks."

Morice responded by sticking his tongue out. "Aren't you adorable, being feisty and shit."

"What? You like a girl with an attitude?" Breccia received a middle finger and laughed at it. "Such a gentleman."

"Hey now, I'm a nice guy." Her friend used his fingers to bat around the ball of rice on his plate. "I know how to make a girl feel special. Take her out, pay for a few drinks-"

"Push her down a flight of stairs after the rubber breaks."

"Have you been following me?"

They shared a laugh as Breccia reached for her Transceiver. Its loud chime drowned out the last little bit of their conversion. "Hello...who...oh, Tess..." She appeared surprised that anyone from the Lab would call her. (Or that anyone from the lab cared). "Really?!...I'll be right over!" She hung up and stood, leaving her plate and food abandoned. "The egg is hatching!"

"Egg..." Morice rose an eyebrow.

"You know, that egg we found?" Breccia scooped up the coat dropped next to Morice's shoes. "I've been keeping an eye on it over the course of the week. Tess was shutting down for the night and saw it moving around. You wanna come and see it?" She was in such a hurry to get out the door that she didn't bother zipping her coat. Instead she buttoned the top button around her throat. "You're, like, practically his godfather."

Morice followed her out of the apartment, leaving their dishes where they lay. "Don't go volunteering me as someones daddy. I'll throw YOU down the stairs."

Breccia twirled about, showing the first glimmer of happiness since her arrival in Aurora. "You think you have a chance with me?" It sounded a lot more flirtatious than she expected. She giggled. "Sorry, I don't think when I'm excited."

Morice cleared his throat, glancing away with a light blush on his cheeks. Her earthly eyes had more of a snare to them than he'd first noticed. "Yeah, well...lets just head over."


	12. Chapter 11

Despite having an apartment on the island like everyone else, Riker was rarely home. He often slept in his office, taking breaks to stop by the pub. Considering it was a Saturday evening, he was expecting a call from Stotler.

"Yeah?" Debating where to sleep for the night, Riker put a finger in his ear. "How's things...No why?...Hang on, what?"

Stotler, a level headed guy on the worst of days, was upset and almost frantic. "We had men stationed in Hearthome..." He started to speak, shaky but resolved. "The Boss wanted us to make plans for a casino in the area, like we use to have in Celadon...I sent some of my best men to scout out the place and not a single one returned."

"You haven't heard anything back from them?"

"Not a peep. We aren't even sure they made it to Hearthrome to begin with."

For some reason, hearing the news reminded Riker of the whiskey he had in his fridge. A part of him wished he and his friend could share a shot.

"I called Sanchez in Hoenn earlier today." Stotler continued. "They had an entire squadron vanish en-route to Rustboro."

"How long has this been going on?" Riker was sure that if they were face to face, Stotler would've shrugged.

"I heard through the grape vine that some of our members have gone missing throughout the month." The line crackled with static, cutting out for a couple of seconds. "With how hard it's been financially, we sometimes have runners, but this many?"

"Have you had any previous missions fall through?"

"Not on my end." The sound of a flicking lighter signaled Stotler lighting a cigarette. "But I know vandalism has been running rampant. Minor childish stuff, defacing monuments, someone broke into the Fighting Dojo at Saffron. Kelly had to defend the Kanto branch against the police when they came poking around."

"They think we're responsible?"

"They did, but why would we bother? It's petty. There's no money in it." Stotler sighed. "All I know is if the Boss can't rely on his Executives to keep things in order, he's gonna start kicking us out the door. Someone or something is out there messing with us."

"Look, just calm down." Standing in the doorway of his office, Riker took a moment to lock up before heading to the elevator.

"The issue with your scientists, are you sure it was just an accident?" Stotler's question sent a sliver of pure ice into Riker's veins. He was so concerned with calming his friend down that it didn't occur to him: did he have a traitor in his ranks? Birtan was small, poor and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The division in Aurora was only a few years old and Riker was working as Stotler's underling when he received the promotion to Executive. Could it be that he as so determined to prove himself and make things work that he let the wrong people slip through? "Riker?"

"What?...Oh, yeah. I canceled the project..."An insurmountable amount of stress and anxiety began to surface. "Aside from the League, nothing of any significance happens around here."

"Keep a look out." The conversation did little to calm either. "And keep an eye on your men."

"I will." Going into the open cart, Riker pressed the buttons with numb fingers.

They said their final farewells and his transceiver was back in his pocket by the time he hit the ground floor.


	13. Chapter 12

Breccia's excitement lingered as she and Morice made their way in the dead of night. It had been a mild week, so there was really no need for the thick coat fastened around her neck.

Jumping and twirling about along the path to the Operation Building, Morice caught himself wondering if Breccia was secretly drunk. "How high are you?"

Breccia took the hint and calmed herself. "Don't be such a prude. It's exciting." She smiled. "Dad had an entire nursery back at the clinic. He'd wake me up in the middle of the night so we could watch the eggs hatch." Back then, the excitement came from what would hatch. Breccia knew what the creature would be this time around. It was the joy of new life that gave her a small glimmer of happiness.

As for Morice, he was too tired to give anything but a lethargic yawn. Grunts were few and far between in Birtan so his shifts often ran twelve to fifteen hours with only one day off a week.

On said day off, he'd spend most of it at the pub. If their schedules lined up, he use to go out with the Carter twins.

Now he spent that rare day of respite with Breccia.

Unlike Nessa and Caleb though, she had NO tolerance and all it took were two beers before he had to guide her stumbling ass home.

Watching her skip around now only confirmed to him that she was the odd one out in their group of dysfunctional degenerates. "You're too innocent for your own good."

"What makes you say that?" Breccia stopped, her untied boots settling in the snow. Aside from a near by street lamp, it was deathly dark. Their conversation filled in any silence.

"Oh nothing." Morice said. "Just you jumping around like a cracked out Skitty." He couldn't help but wonder: "How did you end up with us low lives anyway?"

Breccia shrugged. "I had a case of sticky fingers." She smiled again, chuckling when thinking back. "Dear old dad made so many excuses for me back in the day, it made my brother sick." She turned about on her feet, strolling leisurely without a care in the world. She wasn't sure where this good mood came from, but she was going to enjoy it while it lasted. "I use to break into houses as a kid...I didn't take anything, just wanted to know if I could do it."

"Good old gutter climbing." Morice continued to walk along side her.

"Nothing like that." Breccia commented. "I broke in...Like BROKE in." She used her hands to mime the action in front of her. "All you need is a hair pin, bend it, stick it in the lock and feel around for the tumblers. I got into the Saffron City gym once. Too bad for me the gym leader was still there."

"Landed you in jail?"

"Not that time. It was when I tried to steal from the museum in Pewter that I had cuffs slapped on me." She paused. "Okay, well it was that...then I tried to escape the police, stole and wired a car when I made it to Celadon, and then crashed into a fountain...oh and I was also drunk at the time." She noticed the man beside her when he choked back a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just kinda hard imagining you doing that."

"The judge said the same thing. He went easy on me and dropped the grand theft auto...and the underage intoxication."

"How old were you?"

"Nineteen." While she wasn't happy about the stress all of her antics caused, she couldn't help but remember that adrenaline rush.

As they approached the Lab, Morice saw the outside sensor lights kick on. "I'd ask if your old man got you the booze, but I figured you probably-"

"Stole it."

"Thata girl."

Going up the steps, both took care to knock the snow from their boots before entering. Tess was waiting with Neil.

When Morice came in behind Breccia, Tess stopped speaking momentarily. "Oh...I didn't think you were bringing anyone."

"He was hanging at my place." Breccia answered. "I figured, since he was there when we found the egg, he'd want to see."

"Hanging at your place?" Neil snickered. "What qualifies as 'hanging'?"

"Well, I made dinner after-"

Morice placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper: "Stop while you're ahead."

"What-" The realization hit her and a sudden rash broke out on her cheekbones. "Oh...Nothing like that!...I'm...gonna go check on the egg." She wasn't sure what embarrassed her more: the fact that her fellow scientists were laughing at her naivety or that the feel of Morice's breath on her neck caused goosebumps.

Going into the back room, she saw the tiny, speckled egg fidgeting about inside it's hatchery. "There's some obvious movement." She placed both hands to the glass, leaning in to get a better look. "There's also a little cracking at the base. It should be any time now."

"Its been bouncing around for the last hour or so." Tess piled in after the other two guys. "I didn't think to call you until the shell started coming apart."

Opening the small compartment in the front, Breccia peeked in to get a better look. The other three watched as the top of the egg began to peel away, chipping like old paint.

When the shell fell away and the creature emerged, none were really sure WHAT it was they were looking at.

"Is that..." Morice leaned in closer.

"It's a Zubat." Neil said. "I think."

While most of the hatchling's kind would've been a blue shade, with a decoration of purple around the ears. This one was an odd green with angled, deformed wings. It was also incredibly small. So small in fact that it could've fit in the palm of Breccia's hand.

"I think something's wrong with it." Tess tossed her blond, sloppy braid over her shoulder. Clearly tired from a long day, she rubbed her eyes. "It's tiny."

"It's a newborn." Breccia said in a stern voice. "You all act like you've never seen one before." Sure it looked 'different', but that was the least of Breccia's concerns. Crouching, she was gentle when reaching her hand in. She plucked the creature from the remains of it's shell with ginger fingers. Using her pinky, she stroked the top of its head before poking at its mouth. "Lets see here...look at those pointy fangs. You're a little boy aren't you?" The Pokemon curled into her palm, attracted to her body heat.

"Um..." While her lab partner coddled the new born, Tess wondered how best to break the news. "I think he might be a little premature. My parents were breeders and I've seen many Zubats. I don't think this little guy's gonna make it."

"Of course he is." Breccia stood up to show the others. "He might need some extra time in the incubator, but I've seen them smaller." She extended her arms out to show Morice. "Isn't he cute?"

"He's something..." Seeing her gush over a creature no bigger than a Sitrus Berry only confirmed Morice's original assumption: Breccia was the white Mareep among the black ones.

"Why are the lights still on?" Hearing Lars voice broke the revelry. "What are you all doing back here?" He shoved Neil out of the way, receiving a grimace as a rebuttal. When he saw the small, deformed specimen in Breccia's hand, he reacted with a disgusted grunt. "What is that thing?"

"It came from the egg." Tess answered. "You know, the thing you threw in the incubator and forgot about?"

"Clearly I had good reason to forget it." Lars felt no joy at the new life and instead was aggravated. "Throw it out and get home. I need you all here early tomorrow."

"Excuse me?" Breccia said. "Throw it out? He's too little, he'll die out in the snow-"

"Clearly he's of no use to us and he's in no shape for training."

"Then let her keep it." Morice interrupted, annoyed that he had to speak to Lars at all. He had hoped the accident in Verandi would be the last of their interactions.

Lars must've noticed the attitude because he struck back with a fire edged temper. "Last I checked, a grunt has no right to tell me how to run MY lab. Unless you're on the clock, I suggest you take your useless tirades somewhere else." He turned to Breccia. "Toss it. That's an order."

"No!" While she had done good staying to herself over the past week, Breccia was not about to abandon a helpless creature. (Even at the order of her superior). "He isn't hurting you, I'm taking him back to my apartment-" She fought her way into the main area but was followed by an angry Lars who was frothing at her insubordination.

"If you step one foot out of this lab with that disgusting ear mite YOU'LL be in the snow with it!" His fatal mistake came when he snagged the back of her coat, yanking hard and gagging her. "Keep ignoring your superiors, wait until Riker hears!"

The moment Morice saw Lars dragging Breccia around like a Houndor on a leash, he returned the favor and wrapped his hands around the man's throat, slamming him up against a table. "Think you're tough? Why don't you try doing that to me?"

"That's enough!" As soon as the fight started, it ended. Coming into the lab, Arlia at his side as always, Riker was displeased at the drama. "Do you want to explain to me what the hell is going on?!"

Morice dropped Lars like a sack of spoiled potatoes and backed away. "Nothing sir, we were just-"

"Causing a riot from the looks of it." Riker looked around at the others. Tess and Neil took a second to get Lars back on his feet while Breccia stood, still and scared. "In the dead of night and every light is on. I come in here and see a bunch of grown adults squabbling like children!" His vision snapped to Breccia. "Was this your doing?"

Morice tried to defend her. "Sir she wasn't-"

"Shut your mouth." Still angry, Riker snapped. " I feel like I have the right to be pissed when my scientists are fighting like kids in a school yard." Luckily for Breccia, he jumped from her to Lars. "Since you are so determined to stand above the rest here, why don't YOU explain to me what's going on."

As to be expected, Lars jumped at the opportunity. "I was closing up for the night and our new ASSISTANT thought it would be fun to come in after hours." He continued. "I found her playing around with that _thing._ " He pointed to the newborn in his worker's palm. "It would appear she's incapable of listening to her superiors."

Perhaps it was the fact that, in Breccia's mind, she was already screwed. She figured she'd much rather be thrown out of the Organization with her new Pokemon than without it. Either way, her vision blurred and the rage in her stomach ruptured. "It isn't my fault that everyone here shares half a brain cell when it comes to raising these poor things." She held up the Zubat as emphasis. From there, her anger boiled and splashed onto Riker. "You wouldn't need experiments and microchips if you were smart enough to keep your Pokemon alive! Don't stand here yelling at me when I'm the only one who knows what I'm doing!"

That ended things. The yelling, the arguments, it all fell away and a quiet took its place. It was in this void that, after coming down, Breccia realized she may have let her tempter screw her out of the only home she had.

Instead of continuing on in his tirade, Riker crossed his arms, contemplating. "Let me see it." He pointed to the Pokemon clutched in the assistant's grip. "That thing. Let me see it." When his order was obeyed, he glanced at the diminutive, pathetic bat. "What's wrong with it?"

"He's premature." Breccia answered, shaky but confidant. "Likely due to being mishandled in his egg. He also has some deformities. He'll never fly, but with time in the incubator and a little TLC; he should be functional."

"I see." Clearing his throat, Riker nodded. "Alright. Well, I think it best if you take him." Then to Lars: "Since this is YOUR lab, I'm sure it's about time she got a Pokemon of her own. She's developed feelings for this thing, it's best she have it."

"Y-yes sir." Lars adjusted the collar of his lab coat, still weak in the knees from his run in with Morice.

"Good. Now ALL of you need to leave. It's past hours." Riker's stress from his call with Stotler fared no better when facing such juvenile distractions. If their newest addition thought she had what it took to nurse such a frail creature, he'd let her try. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on your progress."

"Yes sir." Breccia heaved a sigh of relief before speaking again. "Morice. I want you to get the incubator. We'll take it back to my place." She rubbed her new Pokemon with a caring finger. "Don't worry, we'll get you home in no time."


	14. Chapter 13

It was getting to be too much...seeing that annoying little louse every day.

Sure, she was a decent assistant. She did her job well. But hearing Riker defend her was maddening.

Heading back to his place after the incident in the lab, Lars tried (and failed) to talk his temper down.

 _All of this bullshit...over a bat!_

Seeing Breccia support such a useless creature...

It will never fly, it can't even hold its head up. And yet she's determined to keep it?

Thinking of his lab assistant brought back memories of his conversation with Riker. All he could think of was that incident in Verandi and Caleb Carter's untimely demise.

Everyone acted like it was his fault, like he had nothing better to do than sabotage something he had been working on. He poured hours into his studies. He spent sleepless nights perfecting his craft and yet, the moment a single mistake rears it's head, everyone treats him like a monster.

'Once she proves herself, I expect her to take part in other endeavors.' When Riker said that, it made Lars' blood boil. _Other endeavors._ That was fancy talk for being in charge.

Riker had so much faith in this new initiative that he was willing to push her through the ranks without any questions asked.

The same happened with Caleb. Not even on board a year and he was put in charge of the lab.

It was heartless to say, considering the man just died, but Lars was more than happy to have him out of the way. Of course he didn't _want_ anything bad to happen, but it was convenient to say the least.

Thinking of the decade he spent with the organization only furthered Lars' ire. Ten years! Ten years of toil, working in Kanto for half of it, then risking his ass in the bitter cold.

What more did he have to do? What more did he have to prove? A human being makes a mistake and suddenly everything he's worked for is nullified?!

Stopping outside of his apartment building, he rubbed the sore line around his throat where Morice had choked him.

 _How quick he was to defend her..._

As far as Lars was concerned, Breccia showed no reason for ANYONE to defend her, let alone expect anything of her.


	15. Chapter 14

"No." Breccia jerked her fingers away before tapping one against her Zubat's nose. "That's mean..." Alone in the lab after hours, she was tired, but confidant. Holding a bag of assorted berries, she dug around for another. "If you don't like cheri's that's fine, don't take it out on me." Her Pokemon, affectionately coined Nibbles due to his propensity to chomp and bite, was making strides.

He was still tiny, and the first few days Breccia had him were unstable. Due to his premature nature, he spent those days in the incubation chamber. Because Lars refused to accommodate her new dependent, Breccia was forced to drag her new friend (chamber and all) to the lab every time she was needed. She tended to her duties, taking a break every couple of hours to feed Nibs and change his bedding.

To prevent him from being dehydrated, she used a syringe to help him drink and had to mash up several different types of berries (Oran mostly). From there she scooped the paste up with a spoon and waited patiently as he lapped it up.

It was obvious Lars was not fond of the newest addition, but with threats from not only Riker but Morice, he held his tongue.

Now able to move around, Nibbles was eating solid foods and Breccia was in the process of figuring out which berries he preferred.

"Lets try...Chesto." She held it to Nibble's mouth, watching as it was taken by a pair of sharp fangs. The Pokemon gnawed on it for a moment before spitting it out. "Too tough huh? Let me find another..." Breccia fished around in the bag, pulling out a slightly bruised Pecha. "Here we go." Nibbles sniffed the offering, and after little contemplation, chomped into it. It was gone before Breccia could retract her arm. "You like the sweet ones don't you?" She stroked the top of his furry, velvet head. "You're a good boy."

A part of her was excited at the prospect of having a Pokemon to call her own. As a girl, she and her father's Geodude were mischief makers. Geodude, a second generation Pokemon begat by her dad's Golem, was roughly her age. They were the closest of friends. Despite this, he wasn't HER Pokemon and her old man was adamant that she wouldn't have one until she was good and ready.

Turning her head when she heard the front door open, she saw Riker enter with Tess. She ignored the both of them. Despite the constant, looming fear that Riker was pissed at her, she had come to the conclusion that, if someone was angry at her, she'd cope with it. (Granted, it was hard to tell _what_ Riker was feeling because his face kept the same level of sternness).

"We'll use the ferry." He said to Tess. "I want to stop off within the city first."

"Yes sir." Tess responded. "You don't have to come along, we're more than capable of tending to the acquisition."

"It isn't a matter of capability." Riker checked his Transceiver when it chimed, placing it back into his pocket after turning it's volume on low. "I wish to tag along. Don't question otherwise."

From his end, he failed to mention his ongoing anxiety with the increase in disappearances. He hadn't received any word from Stotler, Sanchez or any of the other Executives. He wasn't going to test his luck however. They needed more Pokemon for new initiates. He was going to make sure everything and everyONE came back unharmed.

When he spotted Breccia tending to her new 'project', he excused Tess and made his way over.

With her back to him, Breccia didn't notice when he approached.

"Stop." She ordered to Nibbles. "Take it nice." The Zubat did as instructed, making sure not to nab his trainer's fingers when getting another berry.

"He seems to be doing well."

She heard Riker's compliment (or so she considered it) and nodded. "He's more mobile." When she went to, once again, pet her Pokemon, the bat responded with a very shrill hiss. "And a bit sassy." She smiled, holding up a hand with several bandaged fingers. "He's blood thirsty."

Riker took a step closer and received the same 'admiration' from Nibbles. With a hiss, Nibs sunk down into his bedding and skulked. Though he had no eyes, his hearing was sharp and he didn't like this man near him. "He's a feisty little runt isn't he?"

"He's not use to human contact." Breccia chuckled. "I sound like my father; always making excuses." She felt a quiver in her lip and a sudden fear took over.

 _No._

 _Not right now. Not in front of HIM._

In her position, if she couldn't be tough to the world, the least she could do is put on a front. She was in the presence of the same man who called her a 'brat'. Sobbing like a pathetic child wasn't going to prove anything. She'd much rather be homeless and starving than crack under the pressure.

"Sorry. Allergies." She wiped the mist from under her eyes and got back to work. "It's so dry here my nose tends to run."

Riker wasn't an idiot and saw right through her facade. He took mental note of it, but said nothing else otherwise.

"I wanted to tell you." He began. "There's an assignment at the capital I want you involved with."

"I heard you mention it to Tess."

"It's technically on the outskirts, but we'll be staying within the city over night."

"I'll be sure to let Lars know-"

"Lars is staying behind." Riker said. "I'm more interested in how you will perform. I don't need sour attitudes."

Breccia gulped.

 _How I perform?_

 _Wait...is he mad?_

"I also-" He continued. "Invited your friend...Morice is it? The two of you work well together from what I've seen...Tess and Neil will meet you here next Saturday, early morning. We'll be taking a ferry ashore."

Breccia opened her mouth to respond but was drowned out by another wayward hiss from Nibbles.

"Stop it." She scolded, gentle but firm. "He isn't even doing anything." Uncaring if he bit her again, she picked her Zubat up and set him into her palm. "Look, you see, he's just standing there, stop being such a little prude." Grabbing her bag of assorted berries, she motioned for Riker to come closer. "Here, you can help me. Take this. He likes the sweet ones." She handed her superior a Mago berry. "I'm trying to get him used to other people besides me. The fastest way to a Pokemon's heart is through their stomach."

"If he sinks his teeth into me, it's your ass." Riker moved in to do as instructed and was given a snarl and a snap.

"You're being too aggressive." Breccia placed Nibs on a table before standing beside her boss. "Here, give me your hand."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Give me your hand." She took his wrist. "You can't just throw it at him, you need to...you know, have tact."

"I could write you up for this." Riker was given a fitting response to his attitude, one that surprised him.

"Says the man who can't feed a berry to a hatchling." Breccia led him closer to the table. "Here. Maybe he'll take it if we both give it to him." Grasping Riker's hand, she guided him a closer to Nibbles, stopping when the bat shied away. "It's okay buddy." Nibs sniffed the offering as it came closer. "I'm gonna let go." Breccia did as she said.

Riker stayed still as Nibs tested the berry. After a couple of test bites, he used his wings to retrieve and devour it.

"See?" Breccia grinned. "And you were worried he'd bite you."

"He doesn't have the best track record." Riker ran his fingers over his wrist where Breccia had grabbed him. "Now that your little experiment is over, I suppose I'll be off. I have better things to do than play nursemaid." He had more than enough to contemplate with the upcoming trip. If he managed more than a few hours sleep, he'd consider it an accomplishment. "Don't forget. Next Saturday."

"Yes sir." Breccia scooped Nibs up and placed him on her shoulder. From there, he crawled to her neck and curled into it. "Until then I suppose?"

Riker was en-route to leave, stopping mid turn to answer. "Yeah."


	16. Chapter 15

When they boarded the ship a week later, it was three in the morning and pitch black.

Morice was waiting out front for Breccia, who left her apartment with Nibs perched on her left shoulder.

"Bringing the ankle biter?" Morice asked.

"Who's gonna watch him? We don't have a Pokecenter on the island." Tightening the strap on her backpack, Breccia took a minute to adjust the duct tape holding it together.

The ship, a re-purposed fishing vessel, had seen it's better days. Taking to the water worn deck, Morice and Breccia distanced themselves from the other scientists. As promised, Riker was also on board but was occupied speaking to Tess and Emalene.

The trip to Birtan City would be a couple hours by boat and then another two on land. To say Breccia dreaded being cramped in the back of the rover with ten others would be putting it nicely.

"We should stop by and see Nessa when we get in town."

Breccia contemplated Morice' offer. "You sure they'll let us in? We aren't family."

"I'll crawl in the window if I have to, I don't give a crap." He motioned towards Nibs. "Uh...I think he's gnawing on you..."

"Hmmmm?" Breccia took notice of her Pokemon nibbling on her earlobe. "Oh that? It's fine. He's teething. Their baby fangs usually fall out a couple weeks after hatching. He lost his first last night." She plucked the bat from her shoulder. "Could you do me a favor? I'm trying to get him acclimated to other Pokemon. Do you think you could send Pecks out to play with him?"

Morice sighed, reaching into his pocket for his Pokeball. "Fine, but if he bites her, I'm kicking him off the boat."

Once free, Pecks took time to preen her feathers and shake the sleep from her eyes.

Setting Nibbles on the deck, Breccia watched with hope as the Pokemon approached one another. Pecks sniffed her companion before tapping him with her beak.

Nibs was none to happy to be away from his trainer and snapped at the Spearow with his one fang.

"Hey." Breccia crouched down to his level. "That isn't how we treat friends." Retrieving a berry from her bag, she gave it to Pecks. "Here, lets have the two of you share." Pecks, obviously, wasn't fond of sharing with the creature that just tried to maul her. She gave what sufficed for a head shake and backed away. "I have a poffin in my bag. It's yours if you cooperate."

Not above bribery, Pecks took the berry when offered, holding it in her beak. Nibs approached, cautious and steady. He glanced to his trainer, and waited until she egged him on before leaning in and sinking his one tiny fang in. From there, both were content and Nibbles appeared happy with the Spearow nearby.

"Simple as that." Morice commented. "You actually have a poffin in your bag?"

"Yeah, why?"

"She doesn't like false bribes." Pecks landed on her trainer's shoulder as he spoke, nuzzling her head into the side of his face.

"Isn't that cute?" Breccia cooed. "She really knows how to get to your soft gooey center."

"Please." Morice returned the affection by scratching under Pecks' chin. "She's just happy for the free food."

Breccia did as she promised, retrieving the slightly smashed poffin from the front pocket of her backpack. "I'm the one with the food, where's my hug?"

"Buy me a beer and I'll give you one myself."

Leaning on the rail as the ferry set out on the open sea, Breccia let Nibs and Pecks play a little more before putting him into his ball. Normally she'd let him crawl up her back to perch on her shoulder, but she feared him falling into the waters. " I won't hear the end of it when I let him out." Breccia leaned on the railing. She thought of talking with Morice, but he had wandered off to speak with a fellow grunt. Sighing, she glanced down at the waves.

Despite the frigid temperatures, the sea appeared inviting. Crystal clear and calming, Breccia could see a group of Cloysters beneath the surface and a Lapras surfing a ways off.

Mesmerized by the occasional Mantine jumping into the air from it's watery home (with a Remoraid attached to it's fin), she found herself wishing she could do the same.

There was a tantalizing freedom to the Wingulls floating on the breeze and it was enough to make her wish she was along side them.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned and greeted Neil and Tess, both of which stood on either side of her.

"Morice leave you high and dry?" Neil asked. His question was answered with a scoff.

"He has other people to badger. I'm not the only one you know."

Tess chuckled. "You'd think so with how glued the two of you have been."

"I'm pretty sure he sticks around because I buy him booze." Though she wouldn't admit it out loud (lest she be tormented by Neil), Breccia was a bit chilled without Morice standing near by. (She'd chalk it up to his body heat shielding her from the unforgiving weather).

"So, your first time in the big city?" Tess said. "Are you excited?"

"I use to live in Saffron, I'm sure the capital isn't much bigger." Breccia stopped when she felt the Pokeball jostle around in her pocket. It would seem Nibs was trying his damnedest to get out. "Besides, we're on a job, it's probably not wise to hit up the town."

"You sound like Riker." Neil messaged his fingers through his firebrand hair, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. "Now if only he'd approve my transfer so I can get off this God forsaken rock."

"You know that won't happen." Tess said. "We barely have enough scientists as is, without Caleb we're-"

"Don't start." Neil snapped. "I shouldn't have to spend the next leg of my career taking orders from Lars' ego." He was far angrier than was called for.

After a huff of breath, he stomped away to another part of the ship.

"Well then..." Tess bit her bottom lip. "That was my bad."

"If it helps." Breccia tried to defuse the situation. "I don't like taking orders from Lars either."

Tess shook her head. "It isn't about Lars, no matter how much Neil claims. He's still sore about what happened to Caleb." She cleared her throat. "They were...close."

"...Oh."

"Yeah." Tess couldn't help but feel sorry for the words she said. She never meant to upset Neil more than he already was. "I was the only one who knew. They wanted to keep things professional with the lab...I better go check on him to make sure he's holding it together." By the time they touched land, dawn was peeking over the horizon in a splash of pinks and purples. Tess appeared to have succeeded in her attempt to cheer Neil because he was acting normal (if not a little quiet).

It was close to noon when the group made it to their destination.

Taking a back road into town, Breccia was the last to pile out of the van. Standing alongside Morice, the group made their way to the closest motel.

Birtan City was much larger than Saffron. MUCH larger. Hearing Tess gush about the 'big city' made Breccia think she was overreacting. Clearly she wasn't.

Rife with tall, soaring skyscrapers and several shops ranging from clothing stores to small pubs, Birtan City was massive.

Breccia was impressed that such a small, insignificant region had an impressive city within. (Let alone an impressive capital).

The streets were crowded with all manner of people who were bundled in thick coats and furs to combat the bitter winds.

"A lot of children running around..." Breccia whispered, dodging the crowds with Morice on her tail.

"Remember the whole 'League setting up Gym's thing?'" Morice said this as the group strolled past a gym in the process of being built. The frame work was set, but due to the constant poor weather, it was a slow, lethargic process. "I'm pretty sure most of these pipsqueaks are locals getting ready for the League challenge."

Breccia moved aside as two children rushed past. "Who lets a bunch of kids run around unsupervised?"

Morice shrugged. "CPS only cares if you beat 'em."

When they made it to the Motel, a dumpy place built at the end of an abandoned ally way, Riker funneled them in through the back exit.

Once inside, they trailed a stairwell to the second story. They piled into the first door on the left and, upon entering, Riker turned the 'do not disturb' sign.

The room was as worn down and musty as the rest of the building. The rug was faded with crusty, molded patches. The bathroom had the worst of it with the sink stained in, what appeared to be, blood. The toilet was decorated in crusted fecal matter and the tiles were cracked.

The bedspread was made of a rough, straw like material that was scratchy to the touch and the curtains were about the same. The TV was a busted junkyard set and any other furniture appeared just as unwashed and dingy.

Breccia could feel a rash coming on the moment she stepped in.

"Now that we're all here." Riker did a quick roll call before speaking. "We'll congregate in this room at the end of the day. We aren't going out to the tundra until tomorrow, so feel free to break away for the time being." He added. "Be back before dark, and stay out of trouble." Breccia couldn't help but notice his subtle glance at her and Morice as he said it.

"We better head out now." Morice tugged on her shirt sleeve. "Before we get a lecture."


	17. Chapter 16

"How have you been?" It was a lot easier for Breccia and Morice to get into the hospital than first expected. Going up to the front desk, all they had to do was ask for Vanessa by name and they were led to her room. Breccia wasn't sure it was safe to let just any humdrum person in to see a patient, but she wasn't going to question the convenience.

Vanessa herself was in better shape than when she first arrived.

Wheel chair bound, her left arm was broken in two places, her leg was still on the mend from surgery and she had a slipped disk in not only her back, but her neck.

"Better." Nessa's usual bubbly attitude was muted. The confinement to her boxed-in hospital room caused an endless depression. (Losing her brother didn't help either). "They're giving me six weeks before they remove the casts. After, they're talking about a microdiscectomy... that is if the tingling in my left side doesn't stop."

Morice placed a hand on her knee. "You know we'll always be here for you. Just give us the word and we'll sail over at any time."

Sitting in her wheel chair, Nessa tried to turn her head to Breccia but was unable due to the cast around her neck. "I haven't had the chance to thank you."

"For what?" Breccia said.

"If you hadn't reacted like you did, we'd all be dead." Vanessa sighed. "Like Caleb." There was a shakiness to her voice. She swallowed. "I wish I had been there...for the funeral at least." Too tired to fake it or hold it together, she ignored the stream of tears pouring out of both eyes. She wanted to lift up her good arm and wipe them away but because of the pain from the disk in her back, she wasn't able.

Morice retrieved a tissue from the box beside the bed, using it to wipe her cheeks dry. "Try and calm down. Caleb wouldn't want you sitting around crying over him."

Nessa sniffled. "I don't really have a choice... at least with the sitting..." She tried to lessen the awkwardness she created by smiling a little. "I'm glad to see the two of you getting along. Morice didn't seem too thrilled when we picked you up."

"I didn't want another nut ball moving in on my crew." When he received a kick in the shin from Breccia, Morice snickered. "She's only half as crazy as I first thought." From there, he stood and tossed the used tissue into the nearest trash can. As he walked past, he shoved Breccia playfully. "I have to take a piss, I'll be back."

Vanessa waited until he left the room before addressing Breccia directly. "How are things in the lab?"

"Everyone is still upset about what happened." Breccia pursed her lips. "Well, almost everyone."

"Lars?"

"Yeah."

Nessa closed her eyes, as if to collect her thoughts. "I keep telling myself I shouldn't be angry." Cringing, she lifted her good arm and attempted to rub her temples. Crying caused a headache to surface. A rather nasty one. "The bitch in me wants to say Lars sabotaged it on purpose but I know even he has more dignity than that."

Afraid she was going to cry again, Breccia reached into her pocket. "Here. I brought a friend to cheer you up." While she was sure the hospital had a rule against letting Pokemon out of their balls, she really didn't care. Pressing the button, she let Nessa's Koffing out. "I wanted to get him out of the apartment, but since we're here..."

After glancing about to see where he was, the Koffing took one look at his trainer and a dopey grin stretched across his face. He went to Nessa and rubbed against her cheek, the toxic fumes from the craters in his skull puffing out in thick clouds.

"Hey buddy." Nessa forced her hand up to pet his head. "I missed you."

"He missed you too." Breccia said. "He's been laying around watching soap operas. Mostly The Young and The Jigglypuff. It helps him to sleep." Having set Nibs' Pokeball in her lap, Breccia was surprised when it popped open and her own Pokemon crawled out. As to be expected, he was in a foul mood.

"He's a weird looking one." Vanessa said, commenting on the Zubat's green fur and deformed wings. Regardless of his disabilities, Nibs used the tiny claws at the end of said wings to climb the length of Breccia's wool sweater. He stopped at her collar and proceeded to gnaw on her chin. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing major." Breccia let her Pokemon continue. His little bites tickled more than they hurt. "He's just different." When she shifted in her seat, Nibbles was startled by the action and hissed. "And feisty. Riker put me in charge of caring for him. He says he wants to _see how I manage_ with our most recent job, so..."

"He told Caleb that once." Vanessa said, leaning her head against her Koffing as he floated alongside her. "Then he promoted him. He must have a lot of faith in you."

"I don't see how." Breccia kissed the top of Nib's head. "All I've done the last two weeks is take care of this terror and sweep the floors."

Morice came back a little while later and the three conversed sporadically throughout the day. Before leaving, Breccia put Koffing back in his Pokeball and handed it to Vanessa.

"You better take him with you." Nessa commented. "I'm no shape to care for him."

"But..." Breccia frowned. "He's your Pokemon."

"And he's never gonna get out of that ball if I take him." The woman in the wheelchair attempted to wheel herself out of the way when her friends stood up to leave. "I'm gonna be in here for another couple weeks at least. They don't like Pokemon running around, he'll be trapped in there. After they send me to Cerulean, I'll still have physical therapy." She smiled. "I think as long as he knows I'm okay, he'll be fine. You're doing a good job with your little guy-" She motioned towards Nibs. "I know you'll take good care of him." She accepted a hug when Breccia gave it to her. "The moment I'm able to, I'll give you a call to check on him."

The three said their goodbyes before parting.

Morice and Breccia were a block or so from the hospital when he stopped shy of a small cafe. "You want lunch?"

Breccia shrugged. "I'd say yes, but I'm flat broke."

"Don't worry about it." Morice held up a wallet. "Courtesy of the RN."

"You little thief."

"Flattery will get you no where."

Dinner consisted of coffee and cheap scones (considering the nurse was about as broke as they were). By the time supper was over, it was dark and both were on their way back to the Motel.

"So, you think Riker will be pissed at us?"

"What for?" Morice chucked the wallet into the nearest dumpster.

"Well, you know, the whole 'be back before dark' thing."

"If we don't get there before him, I'll make something up." Their trip to the Motel was uneventful. As the evening wound down, the streets were barren save for a few occasional bikes and a couple of cars driving by. Going down one of many allies, the two did their best to make conversation.

"Don't you want to put pipsqueak in his ball?" Morice asked, in reference to the Zubat snoozing on Breccia's collar.

"He won't fly away." She said. "Besides, I tried ball training him. He busts every one I put him in. Some Pokemon aren't meant to be captured I suppose." Emerging into a more open plain, the road led into a small, abandoned park. From beyond that lay the Motel and a (likely) angry Riker. Breccia was wondering why she wasn't scared about his impending rage. She figured, at this point, she was use to people being pissed at her.

As they neared the exit of the park, ignoring the small creeks, cute rose plants and berry bushes, Breccia noticed Morice's change in attitude. He seemed uneasy and on edge. "Everything okay?"

"I thought I heard someone following us." Morice glanced over his shoulder. "Come on. Lets get back."

His intuition served to be correct. As they went through the gates, two men stepped out from behind an abandoned building. It was dark, save for two street lamps, making it hard for either of them to get a decent look at their faces.

When they turned to head back in the direction they came, another man was blocking their path.

"D'you really think you can hide?" One, the tallest, said. He had a baseball cap on over his umber hair with strands sticking out underneath. "You losers are always easy to find."

Morice's first course of action was to guide Breccia so that she was behind him. "Whatever you want, we aren't interested." He took a second to glance around for an easy way out. (In case things got nasty). "We aren't here to cause any trouble." He pondered if, maybe, they were undercover police. If that was the case, it'd be irresponsible to run back to the Motel. The last thing he wanted to was expose the others.

"There won't be an issue so long as you cooperate." The leader of the three moved closer, as did his men. "We're here on business, and I think you and your pretty little friend can help us." The man behind them made an attempt to touch the back of Breccia's shoulder. Nibs, who was now awake, gave him an appropriate punishment and bit his finger. "Our boss sent us out to recruit people like yourself. Consider this a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Calling someone a loser works against your plan." Morice said. "Just to let you know."

"Don't be snide." The leader answered. "Think about it, more pay, less work. You won't have to run rounds like a trained Seel." He glanced around Morice. "As for your companion-"

Breccia felt a strong chill when he locked onto her. He wasn't making eye contact, he skimming over her body.

"We'll find use for her in other ways."

A scared, shaky whimper escaped Breccia's lips. While it was involuntary, Morice noticed and reacted accordingly. "We aren't interested. Back off."

"This is my final offer." The men weren't backing down and their leader became agitated at having to repeat himself. "Join us, or else."

"We have others in the city. They'll come at a moment's notice." Morice responded. "We aren't interested in your perverted games." He could call for help with his Transceiver. Though he wasn't sure the others would get to their location in time.

"Sad." The leader snapped his fingers. "You two grab the girl. I'll deal with _him_ myself."

If they thought they were going to snag them without a fight, they were sorely mistaken. One made a move for Breccia and received a swift kick to the groin. When he doubled over from the pain, she slammed her fist into his nose. The _crack_ of her knuckles making contact was drowned out by the attacker's screams.

With this hands encasing his nose, blood began to pour from between his fingers. "You stupid bitch!"

Morice took a cheap shot to the jaw, courteous of the man in the baseball cap. He recovered quickly and laid out the one behind them when he made a grab for Breccia's shirt. Despite taking to more jabs to the stomach, he secured one final blow to the leader's throat, who gagged and sulked back, grabbing at his neck and gasping.

From there Morice snagged Breccia's wrist and took off running. They hurried down the street, unsure of where to go next. He didn't want to head for the Motel, as he worried about more of the thugs showing up and he didn't want them piecing together where the others were hiding.

They made it to the end of the block when a vine snagged Breccia by the ankle, pulling her from her friend's grasp and dragging her about on the ground. Nibs fell from his spot on her shirt and tumbled.

"You cheating motherfucker." Morice spotted the leader's Bayleef as it pulled Breccia through a mud puddle in it's attempt to bring her back.

Sending Pecks out, his Pokemon flew up high, took aim and dove down, snapping the vine with her beak before landing a sharp blow to the Bayleef's forehead.

Laying it out in one attack, Pecks turned to fly back to her trainer. As she did so, she was struck down by a wayward bolt of static. She landed with a _thud_ and lay paralyzed on the ground. One of the other men sent out their Ampharos and its lightening went through the damp asphalt, shooting up into Morice's legs. He collapsed, grabbing at his Pokeball in desperation to try and call Pecks back.

Breccia went into an army crawl, sending Koffing out as she scurried to reach Nibs. Koffing did his best to fend the Ampharos off, spewing thick streams of acid at the creature. He was, however, no match for it. The moment one of the static beams made contact, he was out cold with no chance of rebound.

"I hate when they put up a fight." The leader of the three men, despite his Bayleef being knocked out, was in a good humor. "Most of the men we talk to come without question...granted Ampharos is pretty good about reducing anyone who denies us to ash."

Dirty and scratched up, Breccia managed to stand. The only Pokemon she had left was Nibs and he was too small and inexperienced to take such an overpowered opponent down.

This didn't stop him from trying.

Hissing, Nibbles made an attempt to fly from his trainer's hands. This failed, considering the state of his wings, but he started spitting tiny poison barbs from his mouth. They were insignificant and only traveled a short distance.

"Isn't that cute?" The leader mocked. "Ampharos, just step on him. No point in making him suffer."

As the Ampharos charged, Nibs stopped his steady stream of useless pinneedles. Opening his maw wider, a light began to glow from inside.

"Nibs?" Before Breccia could gather her thoughts or ponder what he was doing, a strong, steady blast flew, nailing the Ampharos in the gut and sending it back into one of the men. The blast itself was so massive, poor tiny Nibs was tossed back as well.

"What the hell was that?!" Morice regained feeling in his legs and struggled to find his composure.

Breccia retrieved her Pokemon, only to find he was too weary to fight any longer. The power used was so great, it wore him out.

This wasn't the end of things, and when Breccia and Morice attempted to call their Pokemon back and flee, the last man standing sent out his Gyarados. It was a creature so massive, it stood above the structures around it.

"Great..." Breccia tucked Nibs into her blouse. "I don't think we're out running that thing."

Morcie placed a hand to his stomach where he had taken a swift jab. Between that and the soreness in his legs, he wasn't sure if he could run at all.

"I've had enough to this." The leader yelled, enraged that they had lost two Pokemon. "Take care of these idiots!" Breccia hoped that, maybe, he was bluffing, as Gyarados going on a rampage in the city would raise alarm.

As the Pokemon came at them, the only course of action she had was to hold Nibbles into her chest and duck close to the ground. Perhaps, if it hit her, at least her Pokemon would be spared.

"Arlia!" A familiar voice broke her from her fears. As she looked up from her crouched position, she saw a red blur pass over head, putting itself between her and the rampaging Gyarados. Before she could respond, she was pulled from her spot by a swift grab to the collar.

Riker tossed her back into Morice. She was planted face first into his chest and would've slipped to the ground had Morice not hooked an arm around her.

With Breccia out of the way, Riker's next order was directed towards his companion. "Beat the piss out of him." It was answered with a nod before the Blaziken bounded forward.

The battle that ensued was hard to keep up with, as Arlia moved quickly, launching several painful kicks into the Gyarados' sides and head. She took a few bites and a large tail slash across the face, but bounced back and charged once more.

In spite of the creatures large girth in comparison to hers, Arlia acted as if the Gyarados was a mere paper crane, dodging several blasts of water and laying one final blow to the monster's skull.

It wobbled for a moment, trying to move forward. Instead, it fell backwards, stretching out on the sidewalk before going comatose and still.

Upon seeing his Pokemon and men out for the count, the last man standing went from confidant to pitiful. He tried to run but was caught in Arlia's claws and dragged back to where Riker stood.

"How the mighty have fallen." Riker folded his arms, looking at the sad, pathetic captive as he shivered and wept. "I want you to tell me why you thought it was good idea to attack my men?"

"I-I...I was just-"

"Answer the question!" Despite his calm veneer, Riker was trying his hardest to keep an even temper. "Answer, or my friend here will snap you in half and burn the remains."

The captive trembled. (It was then that Breccia noticed a puddle of urine pooling at the poor bastard's feet). "The boss wanted us to recruit...r-recruit new members..."

"And you do that by trying to kill mine?" The calm deathly tone to Riker's voice gave both Breccia and Morice a chill. They could only imagine how terrified the other guy was. "Arlia, take care of him."

"N-n-no please! I don't know any more!" The man begged. "I've never met the boss, I was just following orders..." He gulped. "I was sent from Travessia, up north, we have a network there."

"Is that the only place?"

"No, we have small ones all over, in other regions."

"I see..." Grabbing the man by the jaw, Riker drew him closer. "You go to this network of yours and tell them there are stronger men than me in this Organization. And trust me, they'll be happy to destroy every outpost you idiots have. Got it!?"

"Y-yes sir."

"Good." Looking at Arlia, Riker nodded to her. "Let him go...make sure he doesn't forget." Arlia dropped the fool. Though, before he could flee, she grabbed him by the arm.

Breccia watched in horror as she twisted the limb all the way around, snapping the bone in two and leaving it to dangle uselessly from the elbow.

The man screamed as he was thrown into the streets. Grabbing his limb, his screams continued as he writhed in agony, trying desperately to realign the bone that was sticking out of his arm.

"You two." Riker said to his subordinates, ignorant to the painful howls behind him. "Come with me." He walked past them with Arlia in tow. "And keep your mouth shut when we get back."


	18. Chapter 17

Luckily for Breccia, Riker had a space of his own. (She wouldn't have to face Tess and the others in her current state).

Drenched and covered in mud she and Morice were sitting on the bed in Riker's motel room. He said he'd speak with them momentarily and left, likely to check and make sure the others had gotten back.

With Nibs too weak to latch onto her, Breccia kept him in her lap, petting him between the ears. It was in this action that she tried to calm herself. Taking a deep breath, she tried to think happy thoughts.

 _We made it out safe. We're still alive._

"You alright?" Morice noticed her shaky breaths.

Breccia tried to nod and say she was okay but the words wouldn't come out. In truth, she wasn't. All she could think of were those men and what they said to her. All she could see was their leader looking at her like a creepy, disgusting predator.

When Morice placed a hand to her leg, she jumped.

"It's okay." When she refused to make eye contact, he took her chin lightly, guiding her vision back to his. "Look at me." When she obeyed, he continued. "I wouldn't have let them hurt you."

Breccia covered her face with her palms. "I know nothing happened, but I feel sick just thinking about it." She sniffled. "Here I am worrying about myself and I haven't even bothered to check if you're okay."

"I'm still a little loose in the knees but I'll be fine." Morice grinned. "You got more hits in than I did. I'm pretty sure you broke that one guy's nose."

"He deserved it." Breccia picked Nibs up when he lifted his head to look at her. "Speaking of laying into someone, you did a great job my little nibbler." Nibbles knew praise when it was given and rubbed his cheek against her thumb. "All that strength in such a tiny bat, where did that come from?"

The door started to rattle and the two of them snapped to attention.

When Riker entered, he did so quietly, flipping the overhead light on.

"Here." He tossed a shirt to Breccia. "Tess had an extra, change when we're done here." He moved aside and let Arlia pass. The Blaziken trudged over the chair near by and plopped down, tired from her previous battle. "So..." Riker began. "I recall telling the two of you to be back before dark."

Not having the attitude, Breccia struck back instantly. "And I recall us being jumped by a group of rapists. How about making sure we're okay first?"

Morice expected Riker to snap at her, but was surprised when his face stayed calm. Perhaps he too understood how traumatizing this experience had been.

"I suppose you're right." Riker mumbled. "Regardless, the two of you did our organization a huge favor."

"What?" Breccia snapped. "Not dying?"

"No..." Their superior, once again, dismissed her terse tone. "I wondered if I should tell you... Over the course of the last month many members from other regions have gone missing. I suspect the men you ran into are responsible."

"They did mention they had other groups..." Morice contemplated out loud.

"We think they may be trying to recruit our men." Riker said. "And they're getting rid of the ones who refuse their invitation. This is the first time we've had similar incident here. I'd like to say that it'll be the last, but I can't be sure. All I do know is I did right coming along on this trip. I knew, with the size of our group and with how big the city is, they couldn't resist trying to interfere." He folded his arms. "I'll ask that the two of you to keep this incident to yourselves. This is still an important mission for us and I don't want uncertainty and fear making things uncomfortable."

"Yes sir..." Morice and Breccia said this at the same time.

"You're dismissed." As they stood to leave, Riker stopped Breccia from going. "You stay for a moment."

Morice didn't like leaving Breccia to face their boss after the evening she had, but he had little choice in the matter. He went out to the hall to wait.

"Are you injured?"

Riker's question came from nowhere and left Breccia stumbling for words. "W-what?"

"I asked if you're alright." Without asking first, Riker took her wrist and glanced at it. He noticed the knuckle on her ring finger was bruised and swollen. "You seem shaken."

Breccia summed up all of her feelings towards the night in one simple phrase. "Shit happens."

Riker couldn't help but chuckle. "That's one way to put it." He let her go. "When we go out into the Tundra later tomorrow, you're in charge of making sure the Pokemon we find are in decent condition. Considering how you've done with your passion project, I believe you're more than capable." As they spoke, Nibs managed to hop from Breccia's shirt to Riker's, crawling up his front and getting to the top button before being noticed. "Can I help you?" Riker detached the intrusive bat with his first finger and thumb, grabbing the scruff of skin behind his neck. "If you're looking for berries, I don't have them."

Nibs waved his wings about, as if hoping to fly. Instead he flapped uselessly for a couple of seconds before giving in.

"Sorry." Breccia grabbed him. "It looks like he's warmed up to you."

"The last thing I need is him blasting a hole through the wall. I'll get stuck paying damages." Riker added. "And before you ask, yes, I saw. I have yet to see his kind be powerful, let alone useful."

"Maybe it was a one time thing." Breccia said. "I'd love to repeat it. Having him control that kind of power would make him an incredible force." She placed her Pokemon up to her neck where he attached to her collar, rubbing his head under her chin. "I better get to sleep. Goodnight sir."

"It's Riker." Her boss intervened as she headed for the door. "We see enough of each other as is, there's no point in formalities."

"Oh..." Breccia paused, unsure if she was comfortable dropping the respective title. "Then, I'll see you tomorrow...


	19. Chapter 18

The trip to the tundra went as well as expected. Morice, Breccia and Riker were all on edge for the entirety of the mission. Each had their own concerns: Riker worried about another attack, wondering if their adversaries would be dumb enough to charge a large group of people. Breccia struggled to keep her thoughts off the previous night's events and was skittish for most of the day. And Morice, who was the most unnerved of the three, rarely detached himself from Breccia's side, staying within twenty feet of her at all times. There was more than one occasion where Breccia would appear scared and he'd put a hand to her shoulder, asking if she was alright.

As for the acquisition, the group netted a decent catch without much resistance.

Breccia was on stand by, checking every Pokemon caught to ensure none were injured or sickly.

Nibs stayed to himself all the while, keeping to Breccia's shoulder and hissing whenever a human that wasn't Morice or Riker strayed too close.

Breccia figured more human contact would do him some good and by the end of the day he had warmed to most of the team. (Save for Neil).

With the job running later than planned, the group stayed in town one more night before departing. As they left on the third day, they walked to the outskirts where their van lay in wait.

Passing by the gym on their way, Breccia took notice of the sign hung outside the 'in progress' building.

"See something you like?" Morice said this in jest when he saw her staring off.

Breccia swallowed, looking away. From there, she muttered something incomprehensible.

"Hmmm?"

"The sign."

Morice followed in suit and read it . "Must be the new gym leader." When he glanced over to continue speaking, he noticed his friend was gone.

Breccia strode past, putting a good deal of distance between them. From then on, she dodged all questions. It was obvious to everyone she was in no mood for idle chit chat. After a long, awkward van ride to the shore, she boarded the ship with her head down and her eyes showing an anger few had the courage to speak against.

Boarding behind his enraged friend, Morice was greeted by Tess.

"What did you do?"

He answered with a scowl. "I didn't do dick, get off my ass."

If any were curious about Breccia's change in temper, they'd be left wondering because she stayed to herself during the final hours of their trip.

Nibs must've sensed his trainer's down turned spirits as well, because he too stayed quiet. Cuddling into her neck, he even refrained from nibbling on her earlobe. (As he often did when he wanted attention).

They neared land with plenty of daylight left. As they reached the island, Riker did what everyone else had been avoiding and approached Breccia.

"Yes?" Her inquiry was quick and bitten off at the end. She knew better than to lose her composure in front of Riker. (That didn't mean she wanted to converse with him).

"You've sufficiently scared everyone on board."

Breccia grumbled at this, turning her back to him and staring out at the sea. The island was a thin line on the horizon, and as they approached, all she could think of was going home and staying in bed for the rest of her life.

"I suppose the stress from the last couple of days has finally gotten to you?" Riker was given a shifting glance and then a sigh.

"No..." Breccia scratched a nail between Nibs' ears when he butted her chin with his head. She wondered if Riker was questioning her mental fortitude. If that was the case, then maybe it was best to assuage any suspicions. "When we were leaving town and I saw the name on that sign...Look, my brother use to be the gym leader in Pewter. When we were kids, that's all he wanted. He didn't care about the clinic, no matter how hard Dad tried. And when he was finally old enough to take the gym, Shale never bothered coming around after." She looked down at her hands as they gripped the rail. "Even when Dad got sick, he didn't care..."

Riker cleared his throat. "We've known the League was wanting to set up in the region-"

"And you can bet Shale closed down Dad's gym to come here." Rubbing her temples, Breccia tried to calm down. "Maybe he found a replacement, but with all the grief he made...for him to just move on..." The island was drawing nearer, the outline of buildings and the damp, snowy shore now visible. "He only came around when I was in prison. Dad died, he ran off with the will and refused to tell me where they buried him...He took any closure I could've had and now he's leaving the gym like it means nothing."

Riker let the story sink in, watching as a line of mist set in her vision. She must've noticed his realization, because she wiped the tears away furiously and took a sidestep away to distance herself. Unsure of how to respond to the awkward tension created, both stayed confined and quiet as the ship docked.

Upon doing so, everyone started gathering their equipment. Tess grabbed the bags with the newly obtained Pokemon. She was behind Breccia as they filed off, stopping when they were interrupted by two grunts rushing to greet them.

"Sir." They addressed Riker as if everyone else were absent. "There's been an incident."

Riker heard this and felt a cold sliver of fear work its way along his spine. "What do you mean?"

"The building was attacked. We didn't see them approach the island but there were a handful of them. Ms Morre-"

Hearing his nanny's name spoken was all it took for Riker to shove the men aside and bolt for the Organization building in a full sprint.

"We're going to check the lab." Tess said, motioning to Neil

"We'll meet you there later." Breccia confirmed before taking off. Morice didn't need any bidding and went in tow.


	20. Chapter 19

Upon approaching, the infirmary nurse was outside the Organization building, tending to the injured.

"Fatalities?" Riker demanded.

The Nurse stood up, wiping her hands on her pants and leaving her Chansey to finish. "None, thank goodness." She said. "Quite a few burns. Whoever those men were, their Magmar was a force to be reckoned with." She shook her head. "There were more injuries to the Pokemon than the men."

Breccia pushed past the people talking and went to another table set up near the entrance. Most of the injured Pokemon, an assortment of Koffings, Zubats and Gimers, were beat up but still mobile. Her top concern was a Rattata a ways off, covered in several, painful burns. She could tell, just looking in its eyes, that it was in deep agony.

"Don't you have anything for this poor thing?" She asked the nurse, careful not to touch the creature in fear she'd hurt it more.

"I'm afraid not." The Nurse frowned. "Our supplies are limited and I have yet to receive another shipment from the shore." She motioned towards her Chansey. "She's been trying her hardest to heal all of the Pokemon brought to her, but she's starting to get tired."

Digging around in her bag, Breccia pulled out what few items she had left. Digging through her dwindling supplies of berries, she was dismayed to find that she didn't have any that would help in the current situation.

"Morice." Breccia reached out to her friend. "In the lab, we have a few items in reserve, go over and see if you can find anything." As Morice sped away, she pulled an Oran from her supply and broke it in half. "Here." She brought it to the Rattata's mouth, petting the top of its head. (One of only two places that wasn't covered in burns) "It won't help much, but it's better than nothing."

Riker left Breccia to her own devices, pushing past the Nurse and going inside.

The entrance room was a mess.

Papers were flung everywhere. The once pristine, white walls were spotted with burn marks. The hanging light at the center was blown out and dangling by a frayed chain. The secretary's desk was overturned and charred. As for the secretary herself, Ms. Morre was sitting in her spinning chair, trying to brush the soot from her Meowth's fur.

Her skirt was in tatters and her shirt matched the desk in fire damage. She still made it a point to run the comb through her own hair before Riker and the others arrived. (Though the char on her face hadn't been cleaned).

The moment he saw her, Riker ignored the damage around him and rushed to her aid.

"I'm fine sweetie." She said before he had the chance to ask. She smiled when he crouched at her side. "Scared the hell out of us though. I was just sitting at my desk and the doors blew out. There had to have been three or four of them. The guards were on their tails so I flipped the desk and tried to get out of the way." She exhaled. "I didn't do a very good job of it." She stopped brushing her Meowth and kissed her on the nose. "My little one here got quite a few bites in. She has a needle in her paw. That Beedrill of theirs was a monster, it took a handful of men just to put it down."

"Has the Nurse seen you yet?" Riker received a shrug.

"I told her to focus on the others. I might be old, but I can handle myself." Ms. Morre glanced to Breccia and Morice when they came in. Breccia, of course, had the injured Rattata in hand, applying medication to its wounds. "I hope the trip went well?"

"No better than it went here." Riker commented. "Those two were jumped by the same goons that attacked this place...at least, I think it's the same ones." He motioned to a grunt trying to pick up the fragmented remains of the front door. "There was supposed to be someone stationed at the docks, how did they touch down here without being seen?"

"We aren't sure sir." The grunt answered, weary when he saw a hint of Riker's temper showing. "I was here when they marched on the building..."

"I'd poke around the lab." Breccia spoke up, putting the Rattata into the arms of the Nurse once its wounds were tended. "We have men stationed outside. Lars would be the one to ask. We came in on the north side of the island, so whoever did this would've docked on the south."

"Unless they had a plane or copter." Morice said.

"That'd draw too much attention." Riker stayed by his nanny's side while she continued to fix her Meowth's appearance. He couldn't help but notice an odd suspicion creeping its way along his spine. Since his last conversation with Stotler, he'd been on edge about all this infiltration business. Regardless of it, he was placated with the idea that it hadn't come knocking at his door. Now with two incidents in under a week, he realized that even in the forgotten corner of the world his branch occupied, no place was safe. He knew he'd have to call the other executives. They'd likely have to corroborate their stories and then take them to the Boss.

And there was no telling how the Boss would react.

"I want you to go to the lab." Riker directed this towards Morice. "Tess and Neil should be there, check for damage and see if you can find anything."

"Yes sir." Morice mumbled this, unhappy that he, once again, had to face Lars. (In Morice's mind, Lars was like a raging infection: he'd go away for a bit, then come back just as annoying and insipid.)

"I'll be alright." Breccia told her friend when she felt him tug on her arm. "Go on, we'll speak later." Morice accepted her assurance and walked out the front, followed by another grunt who was instructed to tag along.

"I'll be writing to our men on the shore." Riker said. "So we can bring more here to clean up. I need to check security footage..."

Ms. Morre opened her mouth to speak, but only succeeded in slouching forward and grabbing at her shoulder. "Got a bit of a head rush." She pulled up on her shirt sleeve and it was then that Breccia noticed a pinneedle embedded into her skin. The poison took affect and she slipped out of her seat head first.

Luckily, Riker caught her before she hit the ground. One of the guards was sent to fetch the Nurse while Breccia tried in vain to remove the needle without breaking a part of it off inside the poor woman's shoulder.

"It must've been slow acting. It's a small amount, she'll feel woozy but that's about it." She ripped a small piece of fabric from Ms. Morre's skirt and pressed it to the bleeding wound once the barb was free. She glanced up to her superior to say more, but stayed silent upon observing the genuine fear on his face. It wasn't his typical stoic demeanor, but true, real fear. Almost like a little boy being separated from his mother.

Breccia wondered how she should address the situation.

A part of her wanted to assure him everything was okay.

Though, the more logical part warned her that, with his temper, he may not appreciate his slip up and lash out if she acknowledged it.

"She'll be alright." Her logical mind lost for the time being. "I've gotten my fair share of stings. Dad kept a medicine cabinet with my name on it. I always managed to piss of a Wurmple or two." To her surprise, her story elicited a weak chuckle.

"Sorry." He caught himself, but not in time. "Just got me thinking of all whacks I got as a kid." He motioned towards Ms. Morre, who was leaned up against the wall next to them. "And all of them from her."

"I'm guessing you weren't the most well behaved?" Breccia moved aside when the Nurse came through.

"I deserved every one of them." Clearing his throat, Riker motioned towards the elevator. "I need to get up to my office, I want to check the security footage." He stayed near by until Mr. Morre started to come around. When he left for his quarters, Breccia was more than content to stay and help the injured Pokemon. Instead, she was called to follow.

While she wasn't sure why, she played along as they loaded on to the elevator.

"I'm still not sure how they could've landed on the island unseen." Riker continued to speak, as if the person he was talking to were a trusted ally and not a glorified janitor. "I have my theories, but...I don't want to react too soon." Running his fingers through his hair, he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflective metal of the elevator buttons.

The red of his roots were showing.

"Just another thing to deal with..." He muttered, clinching his jaw and stepping out when the elevator doors opened. "I finally land this job and everything falls out from under me."

"You-" Breccia contemplated her next choice of words closely. "You seem to be doing fine... This isn't something you can control."

Standing outside his door with his hand frozen on the knob, Riker responded to her compliment with a resounding exhale. "I'd expect as much from someone in your position." He turned the latch and swung the door ajar. Despite being so use to his office that he often slept at his desk, the room felt foreign to him. The intruders never made it past the first floor, so all was as he left it, but knowing what had occurred left a foul presence.

"I didn't mean to sound patronizing..." Breccia said in conjunction with her boss' answer.

"No." Riker approached his desk, pulling out a drawer. He ruffled around through some papers and old clipboards before going to the one beneath it. "I'm sure every person here thinks I'm doing well ...I know this isn't an issue I have control over. It's just not going to look good." He retrieved a remote from the desk and tossed it on the top. After checking security, he'd have to start the grueling process of contacting the other Executives. Stotler, Sanchez and Kelly wouldn't be an issue to contact, it'd just be an issue corroborating stories and deciding when they should contact the Boss. "I'm sure you know the truth of things, about my...relations."

Breccia nodded. "I heard through the grape vine." She didn't bother blurting out that Morice was the one who told her. She wasn't sure if she was solid ground with Riker at the moment and didn't want to toss anyone else in the fire with her.

"I wasn't _given_ this position. I had to work for it. Hard. Harder than anyone in my rank ever has before." Riker refused to make eye contact, casting his vision towards the wall. "I spent my entire life under a shadow with everyone watching. I had expectations to meet, and from childhood I walked around with them resting on my shoulders..." He sighed. "Our operation on this frozen hell hole is still young. It'll look like weakness on my part." Checking the back of his controller, Riker took a moment to compose himself before heading to an adjacent table with a monitor set on the wall behind it.

With the consistent drama since their arrival, Breccia had all but forgotten about the tiny bat perched on her collar. She only took notice when he grew bored and started chomping on her earlobe.

Going to the security panel, Riker adjusted the batteries in his remote before turning them on.

"There were a handful of them." He mumbled, moving aside when Breccia came in to look. The security cameras captured the main struggle outside. Five men, a Magmar and a Beedrill made short work of the guard's Pokemon. The camera in the entrance room was destroyed in the ensuing scuffle, so it was unavailable for analysis. "One hell of a brute." Riker motioned towards the Beedrill. "Donna mentioned as much, but I figured she was frazzled from the attack." Rubbing his temples, he leaned against the table and grumbled. "I need to check the cameras down at the lab..."

"I think you need to sit down." Breccia encouraged. "Before you pop a blood vessel."

"You make it sound like I can't handle the situation." Regardless, Riker made a line for his office chair and collapsed.

"Well, how are you handling it right now?" Breccia stayed near the security panel while her boss collected his head in his hands.

"I'm not." He added: "And if you tell anyone, I'll have you shipped back to Cerulean faster than you can blink."

Breccia gave a half-hearted, sarcastic salute. "Yes sir."

The phone on the desk rang. Riker glanced at it. Clearly contemplating whether he should even bother, he let it ring twice more before letting loose a deep, exhausted sigh. Grabbing it, he lifted the receiver to his ear. "Yeah...?"

'Sir, Morice and the other lab assistants need to speak with you, it's urgent.' The grunt on the other end of the line cut away due to a spot of static. (The fact that the phones were operational at all was a miracle).

"Send them up."

Due to the time it took Morice, Tess and Neil to make it to the door, Breccia surmised that one of them (likely Morice) didn't feel safe using the elevator and chose the staircase instead.

There wasn't a knock, instead the door swung ajar and bounced off the wall stopper.

Morice came in last, spotted Breccia and all but forgot what he had initially came in for. "Oh...I didn't know you were up here."

"Riker invited me, is that a problem?" She arched an eyebrow.

"No...just curious..."

"Lars isn't at the lab." Tess announced. "We figured maybe he was still at his apartment, so we swung by. The place was unlocked and cleared out."

Riker, who was slouched in his seat, sat erect. "He isn't anywhere on the island?"

Breccia felt a lump of fear forming in her throat. Ms. Morre commented that the intruder's Pokemon were "brutes"...that it took several men to take them down...

"Did you check the security footage?" She demanded, the authority in her voice catching everyone in the room off guard.

Neil answered. "We don't have the passcode."

"Riker." Breccia said. "We need to get down there. Now."


	21. Chapter 20

"The room's in the back." The entire group: Riker, Tess, Neil, Breccia and Morice, (and Nibs), made it to the lab soon there after.

Fortunately, the intruders seemed determined to go straight for the Organization Building, so the lab was left unfazed.

Typing the code into the panel, Riker was the first into the cramped, closet like space. "Did you notice any activity on the docks?" He asked. "From what I heard, the intruders fled to a boat. How did they manage to dock without being noticed?"

Tess answered."Aside from some anchoring rope, there was nothing we could see."

Rewinding the footage to earlier in the day, Riker and Breccia were the only two able to squeeze into the cramped space with Tess and Neil having to watch from behind.

The camera on the side of the building had an express view of the lab's entrance along with the south docks.

"Wait..." Breccia pointed to the far left screen. "Go back." After her request was obliged, she said: "Right there...they came in from the south, just like I figured."

"Where are the guards?" Riker said. "There should've been two stationed."

"Unless they were dismissed." Tess glanced at Neil. "Technically Lars had the authority to do so."

"Or so he liked to think." Neil mumbled under his breath. "Is it possible, when the attack happened, they would've likely left their posts?"

Riker, despite the evidence mounting, was still confused and held the bridge of his nose in contemplation. "I suppose if Lars fled the island before, that would explain why he wasn't here during, but who dismissed the guards?"

Breccia continued to watch the screen. "Riker."

"What?"

From the corner of the middle screen a familiar figure emerged from the side door leading into the lab. He greeted the intruders and helped them tie their boat onto the dock. It wasn't until that figure turned and faced them that Breccia's worse fear was confirmed.

There was a crack of silence, disturbed by a sudden rupture of tension.

"That son of a bitch!" Riker stormed from the room, pushing the others out of the way with his fists clenched and his exhales quick and fiery.

Fortunately for everyone around, he retained himself enough to not lash at any of the them. Instead, he picked up a stand of test tubes and sent them shattering against the nearest wall. After, he flipped the table they were on.

Breccia had seen her boss temperamental before, but everyone else in the lab backed away and gave him a wide girth.

While Riker attempted, in vain, to calm his raging ire, Breccia took it upon herself to scatter the group.

"Morice..."

"I'll get some men and start guard sentry." Morice volunteered. "I'll make sure all docks are covered, in case of another attack."

Tess spoke up before Breccia had the chance to address her. "Neil and I will start pitching in with the clean up effort."

None of them needed a second bidding and fled the moment they had a reason to.

Even Arlia, who was such a common sight that Breccia failed to notice her, took a couple steps back from her trainer.

To Riker, the discovery of Lars' treachery produced more anxieties and questions.

How did Lars get into contact with their enemy?

How long had he been planning his betrayal?

"I should've known." He said, his temper dropping to a low simmer. "From the last conversation he and I had before the acquisition...perhaps I pushed him over the edge."

Breccia was in the process of occupying a fidgety Nibs. (Who was biting her fingertips when her head pets weren't sufficient).

"I told him-" Riker continued. "that if you performed well during the mission, I wanted you trained to eventually take over operations within the Lab."

"The Lab?" The question fell from Breccia's lips, her surprise making the reaction involuntary. "Like...in charge...Riker, I've barely been here a mo-"

Riker held up a finger, commanding silence without objection. "Don't question my decisions." Considering his sudden explosion minutes prior, his underling was smart to give a nod and nothing more. "When I told Lars of my intentions, he reacted violently. He demanded to know why I refused to give him the position." Staring at the aftermath of his rage, Riker shook his head. "I'm not an idiot. I know he wanted the promotion more than anyone here. While he's done good work for us, I couldn't give it to him. He's too unfocused, too quick to throw progress out the window for his own ego. That isn't something we need, and no matter how I tried to explain it to him, he refused to see reason."

Breccia pursed her lips. "How is that your fault?"

"It's my job to keep things as collegial as possible-"

"And some jealous dick screwing things up is out of your control." She took his shoulder in a light grip, moving in closer to him in the process. "D'you think you can do your best when you're this worked up?"

Riker smirked, taking her impromptu pep talk with a grain of salt. "You're a great motivational speaker."

Breccia shrugged. "That's what the old man told me...and taught me, but that's beside the point."

"Is there anything he wasn't good at?"

"Monogamy." She couldn't help but laugh at her boss' confused expression. "Did you think I was the product of some loving marriage. Dad fancied himself a lady's man."

"Fancied?"

"He wasn't very good at it." She couldn't help but chuckle at the memories of her father's failures in love. He tried often to lure women in, only to receive a slap to the face or a cold shoulder. He wasn't disrespectful, he just couldn't flirt to save his ass. "Well, except for my mom. They met at a convention in Goldenrod and nine months later, I popped out. My Dad's wife wasn't too happy and left. She was always nice to me when she dropped my brother off for visitation." Breccia recalled her father later saying he felt bad about how things ended between he and Susan. Though, he refused to regret his tryst with Breccia's mother, because that would mean regretting his daughter. "So, you feeling better? Or do you need to hear more of my life story?"

"Save me your autobiography." Riker said, his mind clear and his emotions in check. "Your new position starts tomorrow. The best you and the technicians can do is work on the clean up."

"And figure out how to combat Lars' new 'Super Pokemon'?"

Riker's brows furrowed. "What?"

"Ms. Morre mentioned the intruder's Beedrill took multiple men to take down. They can be strong if raised properly, but not to that extent. The experiment, in Verandi..."

"Of course he'd perfect it for _them_." Feeling an edge to his anger surfacing, Riker did his best to clench his fists and breath. "The two of you had a hard enough time taking down those three in the capital."

"Imagine if that Gyarados was chipped."

"Soon enough, we won't have to imagine."

Breccia turned her attention to the entrance when Morice came in, two grunts following. "Sir we need-" He saw, upon coming in, Breccia standing an arms width from Riker. "Am...am I interrupting something?"

"Just talking." Riker answered, speaking to Breccia. "We'll finish this later." He moved to his men. "I'm guessing we'll need more grunts called from the main land?"

"It'd be appreciated..." Morice let him pass, waiting until Breccia went past before speaking. "Did I break up your little cuddle party?"

"We were talking business." Breccia corrected. "As Head Lab Coordinator, I have the right to ask my superior about my next course of action."

Morice swatted at Nibs when he made an attempt to bridge between Breccia's shoulder to his. "Back off, you annoying little peanut." He paused. "Wait, what?"

"Head Lab Coordinator."

"Legit?"

"You think I'd lie about that?" Doing as she did to Riker, she took a hold of his arms, embracing him in a quick hug. "There, you get a special hug. You can stop being jealous now."

"I wasn't jealous." Morice snapped.

"Sure, and I'm a Mankey's uncle."

"What?" Morice was defensive to a fault. "I wasn't."


	22. Chapter 21

'How bad is the damage?' Riker dreaded his conversation with Stotler. He knew it would only prove to strengthen the anxiety not just in himself but in his friend as well.

"In the thousands at least." Riker held his Transceiver in a sweaty grip, pacing the floor of his office.

'Kelly and Sanchez haven't reported any more damage for now, but it's only a matter of time.' Stotler's nervous tone on the other end of the line didn't help the situation. 'If you're right and that traitor scientist outfitted them with better technology, we don't stand a chance. We barely managed beforehand.'

"We have to take this to the Boss." Riker said.

'Look, with his health I don't want to worry-'

"This is beyond us now. It's obvious these men are playing a game we can't fight and we need guidance." When he received nothing but static, he continued. "Unless you have some magic cure for us, it's best we all meet up, talk things over, and go from there."

He could hear the other caller take a breath, letting it go in a long, laborious exhale. '….You're right.'

"We need to make sure we do it soon, away from prying eyes."

'I'd say we should meet where you are, but no place is safe anymore.'

Though he had come to the realization earlier on, knowing that no place was safe for any of their men left Riker with a fear he couldn't shake. This was beyond him worrying about the security of his position. There were people out there that wanted nothing more than to take their Organization down piece by piece. (And for once, it wasn't the police.)

"I'll call Kelly, you call Sanchez, we'll go from there." Before they said their goodbyes, Stotler added as a final retort. "And don't tell anyone else."


	23. Chapter 22

"Come on little guy." Breccia stood outside in the spitting snow, her coat zipped and buttoned to the top. With no gloves, she had a pair of socks on her hands. "Get him, go on!"

Koffing stood a ways off, serving as a bored, yet reluctant, sparing partner.

Breccia had been trying, in vain, to copy the incident in the capital. Sitting Nibs on an abandoned skid facing Koffing, she egged him on. "Show him who's boss! You got all that strength in that tiny body, come on."

Nibs wasn't interested, choosing to sink into the snow and shiver. It would seem he knew the difference between a real battle and a fake one. (And he wasn't interested in playing make-believe.)

"Koffing." Breccia pointed to her other Pokemon. "Throw something at him...something small."

Koffing gave what accounted for an eyeroll before going to Nibs and blowing a tuft of smoke in his face. Nibbles wasn't having it, but instead of attacking, he snapped out with his newly grown 'big boy' fangs and backed away.

Breccia grumbled and grabbed the bridge of her nose.

"Breccia." Tess was on her way to the lab with Neil when they saw the pathetic display. "So...is this how you wanna spend your weekend?"

"Sure." Breccia sneered. "Lets build a snowman." She gave Koffing a loving pat on the head before returning him to his ball. "I was hoping to recreate what happened when we were in the city." She added. "He blew that Amphros away, I've never seen anything like it."

Tess took a look at the shivering, pathetic bat and snickered. "You mean Nibs?"

"Yeah."

"Did you hit your head?"

Picking up her Pokemon and holding him close to warm his frail body, Breccia started inside. "Guys, I'm serious. Morice and Riker were there too. They'll tell you." Lifting Nibbles up to look directly at him, the Zubat flapped his useless wings and stretched his neck out to chomp his trainer's nose. "Maybe it needs to be a dire situation?" Putting him back on her shoulder, Breccia went indoors with the others. "I hope this doesn't cause any bad blood."

"Why would it?" Neil unlocked the lab doors to let everyone in.

"Well, I mean, if one of you wanted the position... I've only been here a month or so."

Tess flicked the lights on and retrieved her lab coat off one of the hooks. "We aren't Lars. Riker knows what he's doing and he promoted you for a reason."

Breccia was wondering what that reason was. (Though, from personal experience, she knew better than to question any decisions Riker made).

Her top concern right now was to find a way to combat Lars' new 'mutant' Pokemon. "Did Lars leave any blueprints behind for his little project?"

"We could look, but I can't promise you anything." Neil said. "He was anal about his research. He wouldn't even let Caleb near his projects when they were working together."

Breccia snapped her fingers. "Did Caleb have a locker here?"

"We all do." Tess answered. "We haven't had the heart to clean his out yet..."

Neil reacted to his friend's comment by shying away, scratching at his neck and casting his eyes to the floor. "...If he had something, we should look."

"Tess, I think you should do the honors." Breccia gave Neil the best break she could. "How about you check out Lars' locker. I'm sure he took everything, but it's worth a shot." There was a knock, one she wasn't expecting. "You two report back if you find anything."

Going to greet whoever was in wait, there was a short, thin woman on the other side. She came up to Breccia's chest with shoulder length, black hair and thick rimmed glasses that matched. "Can I help you?"

"I'm reporting for duty." The girl said, freezing in her thin rain slicker and boots.

"Duty?" Breccia shouted behind her: "Tess, you know anything about a new person coming on?"

Tess called from the back. "Yeah, we need someone to take your old job."

Then Neil shouted: "And someone to get my coffees!"

Breccia turned back to their new add on. "You better come in." She moved as the frigid being shuffled in. "You have a name?"

The girl wiped the fog from her glasses. "Maddie." She rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm up. "Father mentioned it'd be cold, but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad."

"Where you from?"

"For the last few years, I've been on Iron Island for training. But I was born in Rustboro. My dad was a Tech in the Hoenn branch."

Breccia smiled. "Keeping it in the family?"

"Much to my mother's disdain. She wanted me to be a professor."

"Mine's clinically insane, count your blessings."

Tess came up with a bag full of random items. Neil followed with a few crumpled papers.

"You were right." He said. "Lars did pretty good about cleaning things out." He tossed the scraps on the table for Breccia to see. "Gimme a minute, I'm gonna let Skarmory out to stretch his wings. He's been cramped in his ball for a couple days."

"I better do the same." Tess let her Magnemite out and left it with Neil's Pokemon to socialize.

Breccia, in turn, plucked Nibs from her shirt collar. "Alright buddy, big people have to talk, go make friends." She sat him next to the other Pokemon before going back to the technicians.

She started shifting through the crumpled papers. "Anything salvageable?"

Tess was reading through a few pages from one of Caleb's notebooks. "Nothing I can see, it's mostly just statistics and to-do lists." She shuffled to the back, spying a folded piece of paper dropped out. Picking it up, she noticed the folded creases were worn and fraying at the ends. "What's this?" She noticed Caleb's name written on the front in flowing cursive. Before she could investigate, Neil snatched it from her grip.

Tess almost said something in the vein of 'rude', but she stayed silent when Neil placed the paper in his pocket. "Uh...I haven't checked the other things yet."

Smoothing the documents out over her knee, Breccia found most to be useless with hastily scribbled equations and doodles. Plucking up the last one from Lars' pile, she was ready to pitch it when she saw Riker's signature in the bottom left hand corner. Opening it the rest of the way, she realized it was more than just garbage. It was a confirmation notice sent directly to Lars. The first half was torn away, leaving the letter to start in the middle.

 _'She'll be retrieved tomorrow, before your trip to Verandi. I want her to be introduced to the rest of the team with the same complacency as you would the others. I've already informed Caleb of my intentions. He knows the girl personally. Considering who her father was, I feel she will be an asset to your team. I DO NOT want any complaints about mistreatment towards her or your transfer request to Kanto will be denied.'_

Breccia noticed a staple in the top right corner and another paper attached. It was dated 3/15, a day before their trip to the capital and four days before the attack on the island.

 _Lars,_

 _I have been made aware of your ignoring of my request for civility towards Breccia's attendance in the Lab._

 _I've had multiple members, including people within your own team, file complaints against your treatment of her and I will not tolerate any sort of insubordination when it comes to the betterment of our division._

 _I have decided that, as of now, I will approve your transfer request. However, due to your issues with not only your fellow man, but with your superiors, you will be transferred into a grunt position upon touching down in Kanto. I plan on pushing Breccia up to the position of Head Lab Coordinator. I understand your want for the promotion, but unlike she and Caleb, you lack tact and are more than willing to endanger our organization in order to appease your gluttony for control._

 _Your transfer will be completed within the month._

 _I still expect cooperation._

 _I have contacted the executive in Kanto and she is more than willing to promote you into a Lab position if you prove yourself._

 _You've done good work for us, I don't want to terminate you completely but I refuse to put up with any more problems regarding your attitude and your work ethic._

 _Consider this mercy, as Kelly has no issue kicking out insubordinate grunts, so please take this opportunity for self reflection."_

Folding the notes, Breccia set them aside. No wonder Lars reacted violently to Riker's previous conversation with him. Anyone would feel a cold shoulder if they were to receive such a scathing note.

"Check it out." Tess said, moving to the other side of the table when Maddie came through with the broom. "A blueprint copy. Looks like Caleb snuck it when Lars wasn't looking."

"I figured he would." Breccia skimmed over it. "It's dated 6 months ago. Lars was constantly working on this damn thing. It won't do us any good."

"Lemme see." Maddie poked her head in. "What's this for?"

"It was supposed to cut down on labor." Neil commented. "Plant it on the Pokemon and they can fight and work without exerting themselves. It also gives them heightened strength and abilities.

There was an attack on our building yesterday and it took several men to take the intruder's Pokemon down." He shook his head. "This is an old copy. The damn thing had problems up to the day Riker canned the project. If Lars managed to perfect it, he did so without us knowing."

Hearing a commotion, Breccia looked up and saw Nibs playing with Neil's Skarmory. Every time it would flap its wings, Nibs would follow in suit but with less progress.

"You were able to take the Pokemon down eventually?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah, with multiple men." Tess responded. "We don't have the labor or the will power to bum rush a single Pokemon and beat on it until it submits."

Remembering the incident in the capital, Breccia nodded. "Even before they were chipped, their Pokemon were a nightmare to handle."

"Were they able to get the chip from the battle yesterday?" When she received nothing but silence, Maddie said: "It's worth a shot. Clean up efforts are still underway, maybe you could check in the rubble?"

"I'll get with Morice." Breccia concluded. "He's heading the repairs."

Neil snickered. "Sure, go ahead and call your boyfriend."

Breccia reached into her pocket. "Shut up ginger." She heard Nibs hissing and shifted her attention to their Pokemon.

It would seem Tess' Magnemite was being none to nice and Nibbles wasn't appreciating the attitude. "Nibs play nice." He answered by lifting himself on his wings, perching his head higher and opening his mouth as wide as he could make it. It wasn't until she saw the light glowing within that Breccia realized what was happening.

Luckily, Tess' Magnemite got out of the way. Not so lucky were the two tables that got caught up in the blast. It was so powerful that it blew a nice sized hole out of the wall. It kept going beyond that and bent the light pole outside.

"Holy shit!" Neil exclaimed.

Nib's, blown by the blast, rolled off onto the floor, landing on his back.

Breccia retrieved him. "That was AWESOME!" She cleared her throat. "A-and BAD. We do not murder friends!" Nibs answered her reprimand by yawning and rolling into a ball in her palms. "What am I going to do with you?"

Inspecting the damage, Tess sighed. "You weren't lying after all...I guess we'll add this to the clean up efforts. Maddie, get the plywood."

Going back to her Transceiver, Breccia's thumb as hovering over the buttons when an idea popped into her mind. Glancing at Nibs she put her phone away. "Hey Tess?"

There was a pause. "Yeah?"

"I'm heading up to see Riker, keep an eye on things while I'm gone."


	24. Chapter 23

"So...you want me to use up time and resources that we currently don't have..."

As Breccia expected, Riker was hesitant when she tossed her idea to him. With everything that occurred since they got back from the acquisition, it'd take a lot of finesse on her part to convince him of her idea.

"You saw what he's capable of." She held up Nibs. "When Morice and I were in the cave, we came across his nest. There are more like him down there."

"And you've managed to control his outbursts?" Riker was given an unsure glance.

"Um...not...really..." Breccia exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment of peace. "This sounded a lot better in my head." Her thoughts weren't any kinder.

 _First day on the new job and you embarrass yourself._

"What is your progress with the Lars' project?" Riker seemed willing to overlook her slip up.

"We found a dated blueprint. It won't do much good, but Morice is scavenging the rubble to try and find the chip attached to that Beedrill. Our best bet is to either try and recreate Lars' success or find a way to shut it down." She reattached Nibs to her collar. "When I'm not focusing on fruitless ideas..."

Riker was in the process of downing his third cup of coffee, putting it down midsip.

With clean up efforts underway, he had been figuring the numbers and realized they may not be able to repair everything.

No amount of coffee helped the stress. He'd need a direct IV into his bloodstream before he could feel anything. "If I thought the idea was fruitless, I would've said. It would be foolish for us to take on such a task without good preparations. If you figure out how to control your little demon spawn, I'll have no issue giving your idea the green light." At the moment, they were all sitting on borrowed time. If those intruders were to attack again, they'd need double the man power to stand a chance and that wasn't something they had. These people were issue enough without Lars loading up their Pokemon.

Hopefully, once all the Executives met and talked, they'd be able to take their issues to the boss and figure out what to do next.

Aside from the attacks and the squadrons of men vanishing, their adversaries had fallen silent. If their theories proved right and Lars had jumped sides, more was bound to happen soon.

"Stop fidgeting." Breccia ordered to her Zubat when he crawled from her collar to the top of her head. "There are some days I can't cope with this cute little shit."

"They tend to be rambunctious when they're small." Riker motioned to Arlia. (Who had taken it upon herself to finish the coffee he left behind). "Even she was once."

"I find that hard to believe." Arlia's eyes narrowed when Breccia stepped closer. It was obvious she still wasn't fond of her. "I also find her distrust off putting..."

"That's just how she is. I've had her since she was hatched. We grew up together."

Breccia placed Nibs on the desk when he started chewing on the umber strands of her hair. "You managed to get a Torchic egg?"

Riker leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Technically...It's more like 'stole' it. I wasn't sure what it was, I just wanted a Pokemon. Apparently the Professor I took her from had a similar incident years prior. You'd think he'd learn to lock his windows." He picked at the dirt under his nails. "According to Donna, it runs in the family. It did my Granddad proud, I know that much."

Nibs crawled about his desk for a while longer, hissing when Arlia got curious and reached for him. "Also, if he blows a hole through one of my windows, I'm tossing him out."

"No worries." Breccia retrieved her Pokemon and received a bite for her troubles. "I'm gonna take this terror and head back to the lab. I'll keep you informed if we make any breakthroughs."

"Please do." Riker's chord phone began to ring, he waited until he was alone before answering. "Yeah?"


	25. Chapter 24

The trip to Cerulean was a hurried one. The hospital there was only a couple years old but it was often busy. It was built over a set of old homes that resided next to the Nugget Bridge, and when Riker arrived via copter, his concern resided on the top floor.

"How is he?" After checking in and spending thirty agonizing seconds in the elevator, Riker met the other Executives.

"Calm yourself champ." Stotler put a hand on his shoulder and held him back. A short man of only 5'2, Stotler would've been easy to push aside. Instead Riker calmed himself and stepped aside. "It's a minor heartattack at worst."

"This is his third this year." Kelly said, winding a strand of hair around her finger. If there was ever a person who cared more about dye than Riker, it was Kelly. Her color changed every other week. At the moment, she was rocking a mauve base with ice blue tips, all pulled up into a ratty ponytail atop her scalp. Unlike her hair, she kept her outfit simple with a solid knee length black dress.

Sanchez, a man in his sixties with streaks of grey and crows feet at the corners of his eyes, agreed with a nod. Riker often considered him the most dedicated of anyone he knew. He was there when the organization fell apart and was the only existing executive to date that helped to rebuild. "His health has been going downhill for years. I'm not sure how much longer he can hold on."

"Regardless." Stotler said. "I think it's best we keep his ongoing health issues between us. If our enemies catch wind of this, they'll think our Organization is weakening."

Kelly sighed and folded her arms. "Speaking of which..."

"Probably not what we had in mind when we talked about meeting." Riker pulled a chair up, sitting on it backwards and resting his arms on the back. "But like I told Stotler, this is beyond us at this point. They have the power to cause problems for any unlucky enough to cross them."

"In his current state, I don't think delivering this kind of news would be beneficial." Stotler remarked.

"We don't have much of a choice." Riker pulled another seat aside for Arlia to sit on. He was surprised the nurses hadn't commented on her being out of her ball. Perhaps it was the intimidation of a six foot tall, fire breathing, ass kicking bird that persuaded them to keep quiet. "One of us has to tell him." When the other three Executives focused their vision on him, he rolled his eyes. "If you think for a moment me telling him is going to dampen things, you're delusional. If anything it'll make things worse."

Kelly made her way towards the room. "Don't be cowards. We ALL should tell him. We're Executives for a reason. Acting like a bunch of titty babies isn't going to make the situation better."

"She has a point." Sanchez remarked. "C'mon pups, lets get this over with."

Despite their new found courage, they still pushed Riker in first.

The room was dark and cold. The heavy, white curtains pulled over the windows and the linoleum tiles were chilled to the touch.

"Stay out front." Riker told Arlia, "Come get us if anything happens."

On the bed, in the center of the west wall, a body lay still with several IV's hooked up in both arms.

Riker wondered if the Boss was even awake. This thought changed when the person shifted his head to look at them. Once they all piled in and shut the world from view, the Boss attempted to sit up, using the remote near by to elevate the bed into an upright position.

"I suppose I should feel loved, with all of you here." In his youth he was a healthy, prideful man. Now, he was decrepit and deteriorating. Roughly the same age as Sanchez, he was thin and gaunt. His once booming voice was weak and raspy.

This didn't deter his leadership. He still ruled strictly and had a tempter to match.

Sanchez approached, taking the Boss' hand and kissing it. "I've never been one to miss a party sir."

The Boss laughed, coughing as he did so. "You're a good man." He gave Sanchez a pat on the cheek.

After, he waved the others over. "Don't just stand there like a bunch of scared Lilipups, there's plenty of space around the bed." They approached hesitantly. "You have some news to tell me...of a negative persuasion from the sounds of it?"

"How did you-" Kelly was interrupted.

"Considering the string of petty crime in the area, I figured it'd find its way back to us." The Boss wheezed. "And I heard your conversation outside. You weren't inconspicuous."

Stotler was the first to speak. "I had a squadron of men disappear a few weeks back." He crossed his arms. "Sanchez and I both did. Riker's men had a run in a little after-"

"And there was an attack on my facility yesterday." Riker said. "From what we've gathered, our enemies are either recruiting our men into betraying, or doing away with them when they refuse." He glanced to Kelly. "And I say men because they don't seem keen on allowing women into their ranks. One of my female subordinates was attacked, and they made it very clear they had...uncouth plans for her had we not fought them off."

Kelly scoffed. "Disgusting swine."

"One of my men defected, he's taken his research and it's given the enemy an advantage." Riker felt ashamed when saying it. "It's my fault for not realizing his intentions. I'm sorry."

The Boss inhaled, taking a labored breath while listening to the melodious chirp of his heart monitor. "What is your plan to fix this issue?"

"The Lab is currently working with an old blueprint to try and reciprocate the effects of the experiment."

There was a silence for a few minutes. In that time, the nurse came in for her hourly check up, examining the monitor and IV's.

"I think..." The Boss said after the nurse left. "It'd be best if we re-purposed the research to another region."

"I planned on asking Sanchez if his Lab would be willing to split the work. As long as we forwarded the blueprints to him." Riker frowned, his anxiety mounting. "I worry about pushing too many onto the project. If these men are determined to break us down, they're going to attack the weakest limb first. My branch is the worst for labor. They tried to take over our building once already."

"What I want to know-" Stotler said. "Is their reason. What vendetta do they have against us?"

Leaned against the far wall next to the window, Kelly pushed the curtains back to get a view of the reddening evening sky. "Uh...guys?" She pulled them back the rest of the way. "The gym's on fire."

The others approached to witness the roof of the Cerulean gym up in flames. Fire personnel were on the scene, spraying the building and the surrounding area to make sure the flames didn't spread.

It was lucky for Kelly that she took a step back, because as soon as she did, a bomb was lobbed through the window. Hitting the ground, it injected a thick cloud of smoke into the air. Vision obscured, the Executives stumbled around in desperation to find breathable air.

Through the coughs and watery eyes, Riker managed to get the door open and clear out the area.

All rooms on the top level had been accosted with similar bombs, including the security room to the right of where they were staying. (Why security wasn't on the ground level, Riker didn't know.)

A thunderous explosion came from the entrance way, rocking the floors above and causing the four of them to lose their footing.

"They know how to make an entrance." Riker said, still coughing and trying to catch his breath.

"How did they find us?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know, but I know who they're after." Calling Arlia, he looked back. "Sanchez, Kelly, stay with the Boss, Stotler and I will head them off." The two men rushed to the stair well (being the elevators were no longer operable). In the process, they had to fight through swarms of nurses, doctors and patients all while slipping and sliding on the wet tile floor. (Due to the sprinkler system sounding).

Pushing through the double doors to the first floor, a large Gengar was busy accosting two terrified nurses. Arlia took initiative immediately. She charged and tried to plant a flaming fist squarely into the Pokemon's forehead.

It had little effect. (Though It did turn the Gengar's attention from the unfortunate women).

"We can't do this here." Riker said. "Not with the sprinklers going."

"Not a problem." Stotler tossed out his Dusclops. "Lets try and push him outside." Dustclops managed just that, using a psychic wave to scramble and confuse the Gengar enough to get him through the front doors. "Where's the trainer?"

"Somewhere nearby. I bet you that thing is chipped." Riker was shoved aside when Arlia ran through, joining Stotler's Pokemon in a full frontal assault.

Looking down, Kelly started chewing on her bottom lip. They were doing a good job of keeping the enemy out of the hospital, but they were taking a major beating in the process. "They aren't going to last much longer. I have to get down there."

The Boss held up an arm to stop her. "Wait..." He pointed the chair where his jacket was hung. "In the front pocket..."

"Sir, are you sure?"

"Take her. She's old, but she can still get the job done." The Boss chuckled. "I wish I could say the same for myself."

Down below, Dusclops was still standing, able to withstand the constant barrage the Gengar was throwing at him. Arlia, however, wasn't as fortunate. Her attacks were barely making a dent and when she took a knee from exhaustion, the Gengar took that as a sign to throw out a finishing blow.

Arlia was hit with a wave of psychic energy so great that she flew back, skidding on the ground and landing in a still pile on the sidewalk.

Riker rushed over to her, within blasting distance of their enemy.

"Arlia." He tried to help her up. She got up on her hands and knees, but was wobbly and fatigued. "Stotler, she can't take much more of this!"

"Hang on guys!" Kelly threw her ball into the ring upon appearing, casting her Pidgeot into the fray. She held up the other Pokeball and smiled. "A present from the old man." Dustclops and Pidgeot could've made short work of their enemy, though when Kangaskhan was tossed in, the very presence of caused the ground to shake.

The Boss was right, she was old. So old in fact that the baby in her pouch had since grown up and moved on.

War torn and battle scared, she was tough, and rugged. (And cranky from having her nap disturbed).

Taking two steps, she roared, the force of which caused the Gengar to tumble. The ground rumbled, knocking the creature around. With their adversary distracted, the Pidgeot lifted into the air, flapping its wings and creating a wind gust that caused the surrounding signs and light pols to bend. All the while, Dusclops went full on offense and started pelting the Gengar with everything it had.

"Riker." Stotler called over the battle. "You two try to figure out where their trainers are hiding. They should be near by!"

Getting Arlia to her feet, Riker fought his way through the gusting winds and flying debris.

Going around the side of the hospital towards Nugget Bridge, he saw a black, windowless van parked in the tall grass near by.

Around it were several men and more Pokemon.

"I see how it is." Riker muttered. "Distract everyone up front so they can go in from the back." Picking up his Transceiver, he dialed Sanchez's number and moved closer along the bridge. Crouching down with Arlia behind the rail, he waited impatiently for the ringing to stop. "Sanchez, they're getting ready to invade from the back entrance...yeah, I'm gonna try and interfere before they can. Be prepared just in case."

Hanging up, he directed his next words to Arlia. "I know you're tired, but I need you to aim for the van. Knowing how big of a contraption is needed to control those things, blowing their van sky high should do the trick." He sighed. "Or, I'm wrong and we'll both get the shit beaten out of us. Either way, it's better than nothing."

The Pokemon surrounding the van were nothing special: A Machop, two Grimers and a Butterfree. Though considering their eyes were glowing a deep, red, hue, (something Riker noticed with all the chipped Pokemon), it was a safe to assume they'd be a handful.

"I'll try and take down the stragglers in the grass." Riker jumped the rail and skidded along the shore of the ravine. There was a small stone path over the stream. He waited until Arlia enacted her part of the plan before crossing.

When she got within distance, Arlia blew the roof the van, incinerating not only the vehicle but the grass around it. The men around the van were sent into a frenzy, with some caught in the blaze and throwing themselves into the waters.

With the others distracted, Riker jumped across and clothes-lined a man standing on the shore. He was easy to dispatch, as he fell to the ground and hit his head on a protruding bolder.

The other near by wasn't as easy and got a few punches in. He must've had brass knuckles or a particularly sharp ring on, as his final blow landed onto Riker's face, slicing a deep gash across his cheek.

Through the pain, Riker was able to get the upper hand, returning the favor and nailing the man in the groin with his knee before throwing him into the stream.

With the van destroyed, the Pokemon went back to normal. The redness in their eyes dissipated.

(They fled the scene the moment they had their wits about them).

As soon as the chip was deactivated, the Gengar out front went down where it stood.

Kelly went up to it and ripped off the chip attached to the lower part of its skull.

"So, this has been causing all of our problems." She put it in the front pocket of her dress. "We better let Sanchez know we're clear."

Standing in the 4th floor waiting area, Sanchez took the silence as a sign that everything had calmed. He found himself disappointed that he'd been left out of the fun...that was until a patter of feet came scurrying up the stair case. It would seem, even though Riker and the rest had done a good job of wiping out the men, a straggler still managed to sneak in and was determined to complete his mission.

"Why, hello there." Sanchez greeted, Pokeball in hand. "Allow me to applaud you on your tenacity. I'm afraid this is where your journey ends. Allow me to say congratulations." The lone intruder shrieked when he found himself staring down an angry looking Salamence. "And goodbye."

* * *

Much like after the attack in Aurora island, the aftermath to Cerulean was eminence.

The gym took major damage and the gym leader, an older woman with ginger pigtails, was going off on the fire chief.

The hospital windows were all broken, several rooms had damaged machinery because of the smoke grenades and the foyer was blown out completely.

"I can't get it to stop." Riker pulled his kerchief back from his cheek. He grimaced at the soaking of his blood on the white fabric.

"You might want to pop in for some stitches." Kelly examined his wound and wrinkled her nose. "Sooner rather than later please."

It was only a matter of time before the police started poking about. Riker was in the process of being attended to when an entire team of officers arrived in marked cars.

"Great." Kelly rolled her eyes.

Several uniformed men in matching outfits stepped out. The final one was a man of no physical significance. Though, his outfit varied in color, choosing a black coat instead of the usual blue. Fastened to the pocket where his Transceiver and several pens were was a badge reflecting the word 'Deputy'.

Taking a look around, he saw Kelly and shook his head. "Kelly. Fancy seeing you here."

Kelly folded her arms. "Dixon. When there's wind, there's rain." The officers began investigating, letting their Growlithes prod the debris.

"I could say the same for you." Dixon pursed his lips. "I'm guessing this was your doing?"

"For your information." Kelly chastised. "If you knew how to do actual POLICE WORK, you'd see we had nothing to do with it. Maybe a 'thank you' is in order?" As they spoke, the remaining intruders were collected, put in cuffs and crammed into the surrounding police cars.

"Sir." One of the officers called to Dixon. "I think she may be right."

Stotler watched as the attackers were loaded up and driven away. "Oldest technique in the book." He commented. "Create a diversion and sneak in the back. I'm guessing the fire and gas were supposed to confuse us?"

"I suppose a filthy criminal would know how the other animals think." Dixon removed his shades and clipped them onto his collar.

"I could say the same thing about a seasoned detective." Sanchez sneered through a locked jaw. "Someone in your position should be willing to follow proper leads, not patronize the innocent."

Instead of snapping back, (something Dixon was prone to do), he exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair. "Considering the string of vandalisms, I had your people pegged as the culprits." He smirked. "However, I'm curious why all four of you are gathered here..."

Riker, stitched up but still covered in his own blood, wasn't about to let the police know where the Boss was located. "You haven't read us our rights, we have nothing to say to you."

Kelly stopped alongside him, chuckling and giving him a punch to the arm. "Calm yourself pipsqueak, we're getting out of here anyway." She retrieved the chip she detached from the Gengar. "Here's that thing you were talking about. Pass it to your lab." After a short conversation, Kelly and Sanchez chose to stay at the hospital until the Boss was discharged . "It was great seeing you again Dixon. We'll have to do lunch sometime."

Kelly's sickly sweat demeanor produced a sarcastic smile on Dixon's lips. "If this keeps happening, I may take you up on that offer."

Riker, tired from the drama and sore from his injury, called Ms. Morre to inform her that he'd be heading home. After, he got to the copter and dozed off on the trip back.


	26. Chapter 25

Early morning rolled around and Breccia was alone in the Lab. Stewing over a hot cup of coffee, she stared at the blueprints with the hope that SOMETHING would pop into her head.

Riker left the evening prior on an emergency trip and had yet to report back after arriving home.

The Lab was empty, she was by herself. She even put Nibs in his ball because she didn't want his wayward anger spells making swiss cheese of the walls.

Sighing, she rubbed her temples. She and the technicians (And Maddie) couldn't make hide or hair of what to do next. They couldn't find the chip in the rubble and with limited finds, creating a new prototype was out of the question.

Hearing a knock at the door, she choked down the last of her drink and tossed the mug in the sink.

"I figured." She said when she found Morice in wait. "Don't you have clean up to do?"

"It's snowing too damn hard, thank you very much." Morice had a box in front of him. "But if you're going to have that attitude, I'll just toss these out and go on my merry way."

"Are those Jelly doughnuts?"

"No, they're rice balls." If the sarcasm was any thicker, it'd be palpable. "Now take off your stupid lab coat, we'll go up on the hill and eat them."

Breccia debated the offer for a second. "I really should stay and work."

"Yeah, and I should've finished highschool. Look, I'm tired, you're tired, It's Sunday. Let's do something."

Breccia smiled coyly, flicking out the collar of his jacket. "So, is this some kind of date?" She added before Morice could speak up. "I'd call it a 'friend date', but I don't want to hurt your sensibilities."

"Shut up and get out here before I kick you down the stairs." Morice waited until she got her jacket on. "And button that thing before you freeze your tits off."

Breccia wasn't through playing around. "Of course you'd care about my tits."

"One more quip and I'll jam a doughnut up your ass."

* * *

Standing on the hill overlooking the Island, Breccia felt a satisfying chill. From where she and Morice stood, she could see the entirety of Aurora. There was an over-crop of trees around the bench she sat on. The constant frigid temperatures made for a layer of crystal ice on the branches. The resulting sheen danced when the sunlight broke through the clouds.

To the right of the hill was the never ending sea, the Wingulls surfed on the breeze and the occasional Milotic broke the surface.

"It's beautiful up here." Breccia said with a mouthful of doughnut. "You come here often?"

Morice picked up a stone after searching though the snow. From there, he chucked it into the ocean. "Whenever I need time alone. " He picked up another, but held it in his gloved hand without throwing it. "Last time I was up here, it was after Caleb died." Tossed the stone up and down. "We started out here together, same time. Got shipped here on the same boat. He was the best drinking buddy a guy could have...After he died...I couldn't really talk to anyone. You were laid up in the infirmary and Nessa was torn to shit. So, I came up here, had a good, old fashion, cry. Then, I got my crap together and carried on with my life."

Breccia wiped any left over powdered sugar on her pant legs. "You know, you can tell me anything. It isn't healthy to hold things in like that."

Morice heard this and smirked, glancing over his shoulder to his friend before sending his pebble flying. He waited until he saw it plop in the water before talking. "Hypocrisy at its finest."

Breccia's eyes narrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know what I mean honey."

Hearing Morice call her that sent a warmth into Breccia's cheeks. "No I don't."

"Okay then..." Morice debated whether he should push the issue further. The two of them had been getting along just fine, and he wondered if bringing this up would damage things.

Then again...There were days Breccia was detached and not herself. No matter how many times she assured she was "just tired" he didn't believe it. "Why are you here?"

Breccia was tempted to tell him it was none of his business. (Just having him pry was enough to flare her temper). "I got out of jail and no one would hire me. Nessa and Caleb said they could get me in and I figured I had no other option."

"And this had nothing to do with your old man?"

Breccia was immediately put on edge. The bitter cold seemed to bite more now that her heart was beating faster. Her father was always on her mind, but that didn't mean she wanted him brought up in conversation. "No it doesn't." Her words were unsure. "I'm just...trying to survive, alright?" She sweetness on her tongue from the sugar turned sour as a bad taste invaded her mouth.

"I know you've been holding it in. I can tell every time he's brought up-"

"What are you, my psychiatrist?" The gas peddle that was her temper was being pressed, and Breccia didn't appreciate it. "We're all here for a reason and mine is no different than anyone else. I don't want to talk about this."

Morice expected resistance, but he didn't he'd get such a rageful response. Regardless, it didn't stop him from pushing further. "Everyone else has come to terms with what they've done. You haven't."

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"You brought it up with your little quip about 'telling you anything'. If you're going to say that, make sure you aren't refusing to do the same-" He was interrupted once more.

"I don't want to talk about it." Breccia decided it was best to flee and attempted to do so. "I have better things to do than deal with this."

Morice realized he may have messed things between them. He wasn't the most tactful person and, in the split second it took for Breccia to stand, he knew he had screwed up. "Breccia I didn't mean-"

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" She turned on him like a rabid Sviper, her anger laced with venom. "Why can't you just drop it!?" She chose to stay put, but as she did so, her walls began to crumble. "Please...I just...I can't right now..."

Her friend frowned, mad at himself. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have pushed it."

Breccia nodded, her bottom lip quivering. "It's..." She wanted to say it was fine. She wanted to say that she knew of his intentions and she held nothing against him. But, having it all laid on her made it hard to suck the emotions back in.

She had done good about holding her anguish back before. Yet here she was now, unable to pick up the pieces of her shattered defenses. She felt a streamline tear break free of her misting vision and tried desperately to wipe it away before Morice saw.

Regardless, he did.

"Breccia..." The last thing he wanted to was make her this upset.

She was too far gone and clasped her hands over her face when the tears started welling. "It's all my fault..."

"What is?" Morice's breath hung in a fog cloud in front of his face. Breccia's did too, when it managed to seep through her fingers.

"He was sick..." A sniffle came next. "Th...They found it on his lung and by the time they realized, he was too far along..." Another tear came through. "I couldn't keep my ass out of trouble...he always made excuses...but then they tossed me in prison and he just gave up." Her voice hitched. "I killed him...he gave up without me there and it's all my fault." She had been trying hard to not let any emotion through. But in the end, she couldn't withstand the battering of her sadness beating against the back of her eyelids. She broke down, weeping long, haggard sobs without any shame. "...I d-don't even know where he's buried..."

Feeling guilt for pushing her into such a stressful situation, Morice approached and did what he could to remedy the issue. Wrapping his arms around her, he let her cry into his shoulder.

"He tried so hard to raise me decent." Breccia continued, still crying. "Now I'm stuck here, my life is fucked up and I'll never be able to apologize."

As she sniffled, Morice placed his hand on the back of her head, an action she didn't seem to mind. At first he didn't know what to say, but he realized being a sympathetic ear was the best for her. "If there's..." He chose wisely. "A place we go after we die, I'm sure he understands who you are."

"Yeah." Breccia sniffled again. "A pathetic felon."

Her friend corrected. "All he sees is a woman who's trying her hardest to get her life on track. Who's hardworking, intelligent-" He almost said 'beautiful', but caught himself. "...basically the opposite of most of the idiots here." He added. "And a woman who needs to stop using survivor's guilt as an excuse to hate herself."

Though the 'pep talk' helped, Breccia still had a dark cloud looming over her. "My prison sentence didn't help."

"I doubt your dad's love changed because of that." Morice loosened his grip. "I'd be damned if my old man ever wanted to talk to me again. He had big plans for me and I ran in the opposite direction."

"How is that any different from me?"

There was a pause. "You weren't a spiteful asshole about it."

"True." Lost in her own emotions, Breccia enjoyed the warmth of Morice's arms wrapped around her. Even though she just had the mother of all melt downs, she felt an odd serenity fall over her. With dried tear tracks still on her face, she glanced upwards about the same time he looked down.

It wouldn't have taken much, just her stretching up on her toes. Feeling his warm breath on her face made it all the more inviting. In her state, any kind of emotional contact was welcomed.

It would also seem that Morice was contemplating the same, his hand still on the back of her head.

When she moved in closer, only an inch or so was between them. The fog from their breath mingled with one another and her pulse thickened from the possible outcome.

At the last minute, however, Morice adjusted and pressed the kiss to her forehead instead. "Come on." He let her go, taking his embrace with him. "I don't want this to be a complete bust." He noticed, and felt bad for, the confusion and dejection on her face. "Unless you wanna throw rocks at the Wingulls."

Breccia went back to the box of doughnuts, still feeling the outline of his lips on her forehead. "I think I'll pass." She closed her heavy eyelids, breathing deep to steady the beat of her pounding heart.

"Yeah I figured."


	27. Chapter 26

**PLEASE NOTE** This chapter was initially separated into two parts (chapter 26 and 27). Due to it being two weeks since my last upload, I wanted to give the readers something extra for having to wait so long. Enjoy.

 **PART 1**

The Boss didn't seem as miffed about the issue as Riker expected. Regardless, he still made it a point to insist on a great deal of urgency. With Sanchez's Lab also working on the project, (per the Boss' orders) they'd have the necessary funds needed to make progress.

The attacks were becoming more frequent. Due to the public being yanked into the fray, it seemed their Organization and the police had become reluctant allies. It wasn't an open duopoly, as the police were still secretive, but at least someone else was working on the cause.

By the time Riker was able to contact Breccia, a couple days had passed. The cut on his face was still sore, and upon glancing in the mirror, he found it to be unsightly. With his luck, the scar would run just under his eye to the halfway point of his cheek. In a way, he supposed it would look intimidating as he aged. For the moment though, it was a pain and it hurt every time he blinked.

Inviting himself into the Lab, he took notion of the holes in the wall. Tess made mention of them when repair costs were tallied, but from the looks of it, their short term plywood method did a well enough.

At the main table stood Breccia and Maddie, along with Vanessa Carter's Koffing (who was floating about with nary a care in the world).

"What you need to do..." Maddie said. "Is change this equation. 2x-b=y3 should be 2x-c=y2. It's a simple mistake, I'm sure Lars has since fixed it."

"Ladies." Riker called. Maddie jumped, showing the same trepidation Breccia recalled feeling when she first arrived. "Sorry to interrupt class time."

Breccia put her pen behind her ear. "It's nothing, Maddie was running a few equations with me." When Riker stepped closer she got a good look at his battle scar. "Geez! What happened to your face!?"

Her Boss pursed his lips. "A simple 'hello' would've sufficed."

"Okay then." Breccia paused for effect. "Hello...What the hell happened to your face?"

Riker rolled his eyes, "Just collateral damage." He figured he'd go into detail later. "I didn't expect to see you taking lessons from the coffee runner."

Maddie responded to this by shying away, nervous and quiet.

"She's very intelligent." Breccia defended, not keen on her superior's attitude. "Her father was-"

"A technician from Rustboro, I've heard the story."

"Yes, well, she's taught me a new thing or two." She sighed. "It's just too bad we have old blueprints to work off of."

Riker pulled the chip Kelly gave him from his coat. "Maybe this will even the odds."

Breccia gasped, acting as if a diamond ring had been dropped in front of her. "You found one!" She took it with gentle hands, like a father holding their newborn for the first time. "Where did you get this? Was there another attack?" She took her Riker's silence and demeanor as proof. "Maddie, could you go shovel the walk way please. We need privacy."

"Yes'm."

Both waited the time it took for Maddie to retrieve her snow gear, find the shovel, put on her gloves and secure the door before speaking again.

"There was another attack?" Breccia inquired.

"In Cerulean. They lit the gym on fire and blew out the hospital windows. I'm guessing they figured out the Boss was there." Remembering Stotler's warning to keep the Boss' condition between them, Riker figured he could trust Breccia to keep her mouth shut. (She'd done well with it before).

Breccia frowned. "Is he alright?"

Riker was putting on a decent front. "It's his third time this year. They aren't sure he's going to make it through this one."

The noise of Maddie shoveling and swearing made for a decent distraction from the awkward sadness.

"I'll be flying down to see him again this week." Riker seemed to be staring off, trying to collect his thoughts. "Sanchez is sending some of his men so we have a better grip on security while I'm gone. You'll also be sending any information you receive to his Lab from now on."

"Are we being taken off the project?"

"No, the Boss wants both groups actively searching for a solution. Double the man power means double funds."

"Makes sense." Letting someone else in on their endeavors left a sore spot for Breccia. She'd have appreciated being able to man the project with her team only. (Though, she knew it was for the betterment of the Organization, so she'd keep any complaints to herself).

Riker continued to ramble about other things (not important in nature), all the while Breccia struggled to keep herself focused on the conversation.

She hadn't really been herself since she and Morice's 'get together'. Mostly because she hadn't heard much from him since. It made her worry that her little breakdown scared him off.

Simply being able to let loose about her grievances towards her father and brother helped to loosen the grip they had on her psyche. Knowing she had a friend who was willing to listen gave her a moment to truly breath since her father's death.

"I wish you the best of luck." Breccia placed the chip on the table next to the blueprint. "We'll get started on what to do next and keep the other Lab on call if we find anything." Her Transceiver began to ring from her locker. The chime was faint, but loud enough that she could make out the escalating tone.

"I better get that." By the time she made it, the call went to voicemail. She was tempted to ignore it until she noticed it was Vanessa.

Hitting the redial faster than she ever had before, she waited with impatience until the line picked up.

'Hello?' Hearing Nessa gave her a great sense of relief. 'Hey, good thing you called me back, I was getting ready to start the best round of phone tag ever.'

"I have limited battery life, lets not." Breccia pulled the Transceiver closer to her ear when she heard Maddie come in. "How are you doing?"

'Great, I'm being discharged this weekend and heading into Lavaridge.'

"They find work for you?"

'No, _I_ found this physical therapist who's willing to do my recovery therapy for free if I work as her secretary. She says the hot springs do wonders for your aches and pains.'

Breccia's brow furrowed. "Wait...the Organization is just gonna let you walk out?"

'More like ride out...you know, because of my wheel chair. Anyway, considering my state and recovery time, I'm not going to be much help. I'm not high enough up in rank to know any secrets, so Riker sent a termination request to the Executive in Hoenn and they gave me the slip!'

"That's great!" It was nice hearing Nessa in such a chipper mood. Breccia feared she'd forever stay depressed after Caleb's passing.

'I know right! And my new boss doesn't even care about my record. She just wants someone to file papers.'

The two chatted back and forth for a few more minutes with Breccia stepping into the bathroom in order to get a little more privacy. However, when she revealed her promotion, she wasn't greeted with the excitement she expected.

'Oh I know.' Nessa said when she heard the news. 'Morice told me.'

"Morice?"

'Yeah, he calls every Saturday after his shift.'

"Oh...that makes me feel bad considering I hardly talk to you."

Vanessa laughed. 'Don't worry about it, I'm sure you're busy Ms. Head Lab Coordinator.'

"True." Breccia almost let slip what was going on with Lars, but considering Nessa was no longer a part of the Organization, it might end badly for her. (She made a mental note to tell Morice the same later). "Glad to hear he's talking about me." She said this jokingly.

'All the time.' Nessa answered. 'Though he couldn't get back with me last week. How is he?'

"Okay, he showed up at the Lab Sunday with doughnuts and dragged me out to the hill overlooking the island." She left out the whole 'melt down' thing, as she was still embarrassed by it, She also left out she and Morice's joking about it being a 'date' because she wouldn't be relieved of Nessa's taunting otherwise.

'Seriously?'

"Uh, yeah."

There was a beep where Nessa's cheek slipped and hit a button. 'He usually gets drunk on his days off and stumbles back to his apartment.'

"Maybe he wanted to do something different." And by something different, Breccia meant being the 'shoulder to cry on guy.' After her emotional snafu was through, he sat down on the bench and finished off the doughnuts. All the while, Breccia could tell he was going everything in his power to cheer her up.

Taking two fingers, she rubbed her forehead. "Hey, my battery is starting to chime at me. I better go."

'Mkay. I'll call you once I get settled into Lavaridge.'

"Talk to you then."

'Love you.' Then Nessa said. 'No homo.'

Breccia laughed. "Love you too...bye."

Going back to the blueprints while Maddie put her snow gear away, Breccia took her Pokeball out and let Nibs loose.

She had been trying (in vain) to ball train him. If he didn't break the ball he was stuck in, he'd come out cross, feisty and ready to bite.

And this time, once she set him free, he was in a bitter mood.

Attempting to fly off the table, he jumped... only to flop to the tile and turn in circles on the floor.

"Poor little guy." Maddie cooed. "Have you thought about getting that corrected?"

"Getting what?" Breccia retrieved her Pokemon (getting a chomp on the wrist as punishment).

"His wings. All they have to do is break and realign the bones."

"I dunno..." Still angry and throwing a tantrum, Nibs began to bash his skull against his trainer's cheek. "I don't want to put him through that."

"Worst case scenario: it doesn't work."

"No, worst case scenario: he has to deal with the pain for no reason." Breccia tried to occupy Nibs by stroking the tip of his tiny nose with her finger. "Even if I wanted to, I can't afford surgery. Our pay sucks and I'm not insured."

Maddie scoffed. "There's a Pokemon Surgeon in Isador who will do it for free."

"Free?"

"She's on our payroll. Show up with your ID badge and she'll fix him up. no problem." Going to the coffee pot, she drained the last of the tepid, ground-filled coffee into her cup. "We pay her to stay running, she patches up our Pokemon. It's a win/win."

Breccia sighed, plucking her Zubat from her shoulders. "Well buddy, what do you think?"

Nibs didn't give her anything that sufficed as an answer. Instead, he continued to flap his small, deformed wings, growing frustrated when he failed to take flight.

Breccia kissed him on the head. "I guess that's my answer."

"Great." Maddie said in between sips. "We can go next Sunday."

"Sure. Go out, see the sights, subject my Pokemon to reconstructive surgery."

"We'll make a girl date of it."

Breccia smiled. "No homo?"

Maddie contemplated, her cup still in her grip. "I mean...if you're cool with it..."

"I'm gonna say no."

"It was worth a shot."

* * *

 **PART 2**

The week passed in an uneventful blur. Having the new chip made for some good comparisons to the old blueprint. By the time Sunday rolled around, they sent their findings to Sanchez's Lab.

"Yeah I'm fine...Just to Isador...we took Neil too, he's been cramped up in his apartment all week...Yes I'll call you if anything happens...you too." Breccia shoved her Transceiver into her bag.

"Who was that?" Neil asked, leaning on the boat rail.

"Morice, just making sure everything's going okay."

"We took off an hour ago..."

"And he's making sure we're okay." Breccia stood alongside him, taking a deep breath and enjoying the salt on the air. "Maddie's sleeping below deck, we should touch land within a couple hours."

"Joy." Neil pushed the glasses up along the bridge of his nose. "...Thanks for inviting me. I was just going to watch TV with Skarmory all day..."

Breccia never noticed how little she and Niell had to talk about when Tess wasn't with them. Without her, he was usually quiet and mute. "No problem, maybe we'll find you a cute boy on shore."

Neil chuckled. "I doubt that."

"You never know."

He shrugged, frowning. "I guess..." He seemed to withdraw, pulling his jean material coat around him. It was thin and made for very little wind resistance. He'd been meaning to get a new one, but as of late, he didn't have the energy to do much aside from work and sleep.

Breccia watched him fidget, wondering if she made a mistake in inviting him. She wasn't mad at him by any means. If anything, she was mad at herself for breaking down his door and dragging him out.

Neil must've noticed Breccia's expression because he spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "I'm sorry." He muttered. "I know you're trying to help. I'm just...not ready to move on yet." He pulled out the note he took from Tess back in the Lab. "I-" He bit down on his bottom lip and, for a moment, Breccia feared he may cry. "I wrote this for him a day before he went out to Verandi. We had a date planned when he came back."

Breccia gave him a friendly pat on the back. "You seem to be doing better than you were."

"Each day is a little easier..." Neil exhaled. " I keep thinking about that last time I saw him."

"You'll always have good memories..." Breccia felt her attempts to sooth were lacking. "When I think about my dad lately, I try to laugh." She felt a chill. "At the clinic one time, he had a Squirtle come in with a thorn in his paw. When Dad went to remove it, he freaked out and flooded the examination room." She laughed. "Took us a week to replace the floor boards."

Neil gave a small, weak chuckle. "Caleb and I's first date, I stepped in a divot and twisted my ankle. He had to carry me home." He added. "And then he dropped me down the stairs and I broke my arm."

The horn on the boar mast blared, causing Breccia to jump. "I wish he'd stop doing that."

Neil tucked the note back into his pocket and separated himself from the rail. "I'm gonna go below deck."

"I hope I didn't make things uncomfortable."

"No, I'm fine...In truth, I am doing better. It's just gonna take some time."

* * *

Breccia hadn't been back to Isador since her first arrival in Birtan.

The Surgeon's office was the only decent looking building in the town, sticking out among the cabins and huts. It looked like something one would see in the capital with several windows and an arching glass door. (It would seem the Organization's money was doing some good).

"It's a simple procedure." The doctor: young, heavy set with a mane of black curls all about her face, looked at the x-rays. "We'll need to break this bone on each wing..." She pointed to the pictures. "We'll also realign them and put in a small metal rod to strengthen the bones."

"That isn't going to make him more susceptible to lightning will it?"

The doctor laughed at Breccia's inquiry. "No, nothing like that. It'll just insure he heals correctly."

Breccia petted Nibs as he sat on the cold, sterilized table. He wasn't responding to her affection. He too was busy sneering at the doctor. "Nibs stop, she's trying to help."

"Not very trusting?"

"Unless you feed him."

"Well, if that's the case..." The doctor reached into a bowl on the counter. She pulled out a Pecha Berry. "I have something that may change his mind."

As to be expected, Nibbles warmed up instantly and devoured the berry before the doctor could let go. After, he pressed his head up against her fingers, demanding pets.

Breccia left her Pokemon in the doctor's care and was given a couple hours before the surgery was complete.

Leaving the clinic with Maddie and Neil, she felt anxiety building in her chest. She had never been separated from Nibs. From the moment he was born he'd always been by her side.

"You gonna be alright?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah..." Breccia said, kneading her hands. "I just worry about leaving him alone in there."

"With how feisty he is, it's the doctor I worry about." Maddie took Breccia by the wrist. "Come on, lets go to the park."

"The park?"

"Kinda a park, there's a bench and a swing set."

There wasn't much to do in Isador. It was a fishing town and the locals weren't fond of outsiders. The three friends received strange glances wherever they went and, despite it being mild, the cold felt worse in this small village than it did on the boat.

"Some park." Neil commented when they made it to the outskirts. The 'park' was just as Maddie said: A couple benches and a rusted swing set. None of the locals were there, leaving the place empty and eerie.

"You know what'd be nice?" Breccia complained. "One decent sunny day. Maybe Seventy Five degrees, have the beaches be white from sand instead of snow."

Neil kicked said snow with the tip of his boot. "It gets warmer the further north you go."

Maddie nodded. "Travessia's tropical, but you can only get to it if you pass through Nattura Mountains. It's a five hour trip from where we are now."

Breccia rubbed her arms through her jacket. "Of course it is."

"It could be worse." Maddie suggested. "You could be stuck here AND have a boss that hates you..."

"Riker doesn't hate you." Neil said. "I thought the same thing when I first started." He sat on the far edge of the bench with the ladies. "If he hated you, you wouldn't be here. And if he grows to hate you, you won't be here very long. Just do your job, do it right, and listen when he talks."

They stayed at the park for half an hour, talking of trivial things and struggling to keep warm. Eventually, they wandered back into town and came upon the local Inn. Inside, they paid for a meal and sat around the fireplace. Since the Inn didn't have a policy regarding Pokemon being in their balls, Neil let his Skarmory out to unwind.

"I wonder what happened to Caleb's Electrode?" He wondered, sitting at just the right distance from the fireplace to stay warm but far enough that the heat didn't hurt his Pokemon (who was sitting beside him.) "He had him for years."

Breccia hugged her knees, soaking in the warmth. "If it was on Caleb when those Mammoswine..." She debated continuing. "I mean...it might not have made it."

Neil mimicked her position and hugged one of his knees as well. "You never know, maybe it was recovered and re purposed to a new initiate." The thought made him wince. "I'm not sure how Ol' Buzz would treat an inexperienced trainer."

The innkeeper came by to prod the fire and throw another log in. The crackling and smell of burning wood lowered the raging anxiety running through Breccia's veins. All she could think about was Nibs. "Wait..." She interjected. "I could've swore Caleb had a Nosepass before he and Nessa left Pewter...I guess their dad took it when they fled the region."

"Sounds like an asshole." Maddie, who had been staring into the flames quietly up to that point, spoke up.

"He was." Breccia nodded. "Caleb's dad use to beat the spit out of him. Nessa got a few lashings too, but Caleb usually stepped in for her. We grew up together, my dad felt sorry for them and often let them stay over at our place. He was even training Caleb to join his gym." Thinking of her father's kind heart made hers feel a little less cold. "That's just how he was. He'd reform a rabid Eevee if he could."

"I wish I had an Eevee." Maddie complained. "I wish I had ANY Pokemon now that I think about it."

Standing up to stretch, Neil yawned. "You'll get one eventually. We caught quite a few a couple weeks back. Riker will probably just have you chose one."

"I hope so."

When they returned to the surgeon's office, the doctor was in wait.

"How is he?" Breccia asked.

The doctor held up several bandaged fingers. "He wasn't fond of the IV. But, he pulled through just fine."

Inside, she handed Breccia a tiny plastic crate (air holes included). "He's still asleep." She handed her a bottle. "These are for the pain. Since he's so small, I'd recommend half a pill in the morning. I'd also recommend he not be put in his ball until he's fully healed." She reached in and stroked the sleeping Zubat between the ears. "He has strong bones, he'll be quite the flyer."

"Does this happen often?" Maddie pondered.

"I'd say one in every two thousand hatchings. It's not common, but not rare. The sad thing is, it's easily fixable, but most people see it and throw them out."

Breccia looked inside one of the air holes to her sleeping Pokemon. "That's not going to happen any time soon."

There was no reason to stay in Isador after Nibs was retrieved. He stayed asleep until half way into the boat ride home. Once awake, he felt the pain in his bandaged wings and began to squeak, feeling groggy and uncomfortable.

"I know you're sore." Breccia said when he started shifting around. "Don't worry buddy, when we get home, I'll give you your pill and get a nice, fluffy pillow for you."

Nibs seemed appeased by this and settled back down into his bedding, ready for the long trek home.


	28. Chapter 27

Maddie hurried from her first floor apartment, a bag tossed over her arm and her coat unbuttoned. She thought she'd heard her alarm... she must've hit snooze because she was over an hour late. (She feared news of her tardiness would leak over to Riker and then she'd be in even more trouble).

Rushing through an ally created by her apartment and the local grocery, she hit the sidewalk, her shoes wet from slush. With her mind set on the scolding she would likely get, she was startled when a voice called out to her.

"Maddie."

She shrieked, slipping and nailing her tailbone on the ground before smacking her head.

The sky spun, turning into a blur of grey clouds and tufts of falling snow. When her vision evened out, she noticed Riker standing over her.

"Do yourself a favor." He said while helping her up. "Don't join the winter Olympics."

"Sorry..." Maddie was already panicking due to her lateness. Now that her boss was here, and likely wondering why she wasn't in the lab, her nerves and fear were amplified more.

 _He's totally hating me right now._

 _I'm gonna lose my job._

"You alright?" Riker said when he noticed his subordinate gasping for breath.

"Just...winded." Maddie knew the real reason behind her shortness of breath, but wasn't willing to let him know. She was struggling to talk her panic down and the world was starting to go white from her inability to take a full breath. All the while, she was slightly angry at herself. She had been doing so well since arriving in Birtan, and now she was having problems all over again.

"Look at me." Riker took her by the shoulders. When she refused and kept her eyes clamped shut, he shook her lightly. "Look at me."

She obeyed.

"You need to breath."

"I am..."

"No you're not. Listen to me, breath in."

Maddie took a sharp inhale.

"Breath out."

She exhaled.

This persisted for a minute or so before the blue left her cheeks. When she had a better grip on her mind and her thoughts stopped racing, a guilt and embarrassment took it's place. "Sorry..."

"Why are you always apologizing?"

She swallowed. "I thought you were mad..."

Riker's brows rose. "You'd know it I was angry."

"I'm so-" Maddie caught herself and swore under her breath. "I don't know when people are...father always told me it was in my head." He also told her a lot of other things. Her father's constant scorn and ire made living with him unbearable.

Riker thought for a second. "If my memory serves, he's Gino from the Sinnoh branch."

"We moved to Rustboro when I was a child. But, Yes."

"He's a dick."

Maddie snorted in an attempt to hold back a laugh. "He had his moments." Her smile fell quickly. "Whenever I'd panic, he'd yell and tell me how my sister wasn't that way." She pursed her lips. "Macie died when I was little. My parents weren't watching me and I stumbled out into the road. A car was coming and she pushed me out of the way...I could've worked with dad in Sinnoh, but I broke my neck to get on the boat the moment this position opened."

Riker answered with a nod, retrieving the pen tucked into his shirt pocket. He reached out and grabbed her hand, scribbling a number onto her palm. "When you get some where where you can, write this down and give him a call."

"Who is it?"

"A psychiatrist."

Maddie's eyes expanded. "Oh, I don't need-"

"You're standing here, covered in snow and your top concern is whether I'm mad at you."

She glanced at the number, her pulse still raging. "I don't want to seem weak-"

Riker interrupted her again, his nonchalant demeanor flipping into a stern, commanding one. "Laziness is weakness. Idiocy is weakness. Your brain not working right due to no fault of your own isn't something you can help."

Shaking the snow from her sleeves, Maddie threw her bag over her shoulder. She swallowed, still feeling a wave of humiliation. "Th-thank you..." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "...You handled my meltdown well."

Her boss pulled a Pokeball from inside his coat. "Personal experience." He handed it to her. "Here, I was heading over to give this to you."

After the morning she had, Maddie wasn't expecting any good news. (In fact, she was still expecting a sound scolding when she reached the Lab). "You mean I get a-"

"Don't shit yourself, just take it."

Holding her new Pokemon in a trembling grip, her excitement pushed her fear and anxiety away. "Th-thank you." Niell mentioned she'd get one eventually, but she didn't expect it to happen THIS soon. "I better get back to the Lab. Thank you again."

Riker stopped her before she could run off. "Wait, why aren't you there already?"

"Uh..." Maddie lied without thinking. "I was going on a coffee run."

"You don't have any coffee."

"I changed my mind. Bye!" She bolted then, ignorant to the fact that running is what caused her to fall in the first place. "Guys guess what?!" She ran into the Lab, not even bothering to kick the snow off her shoes. This, in turn, caused another slip, resulting in her, once again, busting her ass on the linoleum. "Why do I keep doing that?" She got on stable ground before the others could rush over. "Guess what I have!"

Tess, Neil and Breccia were in the middle of a conversation when their assistant came storming in covered in snow.

"A concussion?" Neil retorted.

"An excuse for being late?" Breccia added.

"Maybe and yes, but no, look." Maddie held out her Pokeball. "I got a Pokemon! Riker gave it to me on my way over here!"

"It's about time." Tess said. "So, what is it? I'm betting five on a Grimer."

"I'm betting ten on a Koffing." Neil even went as far as to reach for his wallet.

"Well I'm betting." Breccia interjected, looking ragged with dark circles under her eyes and her knotted hair pulled into an unmanageable ponytail. "That all three of you are gonna get a swift kick in the rear if we don't get back to the task at hand." With a hand on her hip, her next jab was directed to Maddie. "And why are you late, we have important things to get to and very little time to get them done."

"I-" Maddie bit her lip, remembering Riker's comment towards her constant need to apologize. "I figured you'd be happy for me..." A silence fell over the lab as Maddie choose to hang her coat and sulk to the utility closet.

"Geez Breccia." Tess said what the others were thinking. "What crawled up your snatch and died? We've been working non-stop for weeks. You make it sound like we've been standing around with a thumb up our ass."

Breccia sighed, rubbing her face in an attempt to perk herself up. "You're right, you're right." She took her hair down, giving it a fluff to try and improve her appearance. "I was up all night with Nibs. That and with the stress of finding a solution, I snapped. I'm sorry." She beckoned Maddie to her when she came out of the closet. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. Just be sure to set a more reliable alarm next time, okay?" Her assistant nodded. "Good, now lets see that Pokemon. Tess and Neil have a betting pool."

Excited, Maddie released her new companion for the others to see.

"Hey, it's Ol' Buzz." Neil said when the Pokemon that popped up happened to be Caleb's Electrode. "I wondered what happened to him."

Maddie approached her new friend cautiously. "Hi there..." She crouched down to its level. "It's nice to meet you Buzz."

The Electrode greeted her hospitality with skepticism, looking around, as if it was expecting someone.

"I think it's looking for Caleb..." Tess whispered.

"Poor thing." Breccia whispered back.

When Buzz couldn't find the person it was looking for, it settled its sights on its new trainer. A scowl became prevalent.

"Maddie." Neil said. "I'd back away if I were you. When their kind get that look, it usually lends to explosive results."

"What do you mean?" Before Maddie could finish, her Pokemon began to glow. The faint light grew until it was nothing but a reflective white orb.

"Everyone get down!" Breccia managed to grab her assistant. She and the others ducked out of the way just in time. The Electrode blew its top, destroying several tables and lab accouterments.

And, as was the prerogative of any Pokemon that stepped foot in the Lab, it blew another hole in the wall. "Of course." Breccia rubbed her temples. "Tess..."

"I'll get the ply wood."


	29. Chapter 28

"We need a scapegoat." Neil, Breccia and Tess were crowded around a control module. After spending hours trying to get it up and running, they were tired but confidant.

Breccia took Neil's offer with little enthusiasm. "I don't know if it's even functional." The panel was used during Caleb and Lars' experiments in the Verandi tundra. It managed to survive, but was heavily damaged and took a lot of work. "Like you guys said, Lars was constantly working on this damn thing. Anything wrong with it has likely been fixed. Considering the attack in Cerulean..." Riker didn't mind her mentioning the attack itself, but was adamant that she keep her mouth shut about WHY the executives were in Cerulean to begin with.

"We have a chip." Tess insisted. "We could attach it to one of our Pokemon and see how well it works."

Lost in her own thoughts, Breccia failed to notice when her two Lab partners turned their attention to her. She caught their stares and immediately rejected their proposal. "Don't even think about it."

"It'd be a good way to test how well it works-" Neil was interrupted with a glare that shut him up faster than an order ever could.

"NO." Breccia snapped. "Nibs is still healing." She rubbed her eyes. "I would know, because I've been up with him every day this week. I had to grind his pills in yogurt because he keeps spitting them out at me."

Noticing Maddie, who was trying to tend to her new Pokemon, an idea popped into her head. "Maddie, bring Buzz over here."

"Why?" Maddie stood up with Buzz in her arms. "It's not good for anything right now. The last thing I want to do is scramble it's brains." Still out of commission from it's nasty explosion, Buzz was unconscious and unresponsive.

"If the chip works, this is a good way to test it." Neil bargained. "It's all wires, there's nothing there to scramble."

Buzz was placed on the table. Tess was careful when putting the chip in place. "Alright, lets see how this works."

Breccia took the helm, pressing the buttons on the console and grabbing a lever before pulling it down. Buzz opened its eyes, levitating up, as if it was in perfect health and ready to fight. "I'll give Lars credit." She said. "He was a smart man. Too bad he couldn't stop sucking his own dick." For the next couple of minutes, they commanded the Electrode around, turning him in circles and instructing him to and fro. "Well, the good news is, we can replicate the experiment. That's as good as it gets at the moment, but it's something."

Standing near Maddie, watching, Neil paused when he heard his Transceiver ring in his pocket.

"I swear." Tess complained. "You have the worst friggin ring tone."

"I've tried to change it. It won't let me." When he pulled it out of his pocket to check, the Electrode went into spasms.

Twitching, the chip attached to its back began to spark, turning off and causing the Pokemon to slam into the ground.

"What the hell..." Breccia and the others were silent for a moment, as if they were contemplating what had just occurred.

After a quite minute, Maddie spoke up. "Wait...is there something wrong with the panel?"

"It could be anything." Breccia said. "The chip could've been damaged in the fight. One of the executives found it after they subdued the Pokemon it was stuck to." She rubbed her temples. "Maybe if we send the chip and console to Sanchez's lab, they'll have someone more prepared to deal with it. I can fax the blueprints over ahead of time."

Maddie glanced over at Neil as his ringtone went off again. "The devil's chord..."

"I beg your pardon?" Neil was in the process of texting back.

"Your ringtone. It's the devil's chord." She snatched her own Transceiver, skimming through before settling on one of the tones. "It's the default ringtone."

"Yeah, and it's annoying." Tess said. "I picked a new one the moment I got mine. Neil's is just screwed up."

Walking over to the panel, Maddie helped herself: messing with the buttons and levers until her Electrode came back to life. "The chip itself isn't damaged. It's the frequency of the tritone. From the sounds of it, it's a G with a diminished fifth." Pushing a button on the Transceiver, the noise started up again.

Just like the previous time, the chip shorted and her Pokemon collapsed. "We found our Mankey's Paw."

"That doesn't make sense." Breccia was more than happy to have finally found something to combat their adversaries, but she was confused as to why this issue didn't pop up earlier. " When we were in Verandi, Morice was making calls, but he was too far away from Lars and Caleb."

"Unless either one of them was making calls themselves?" Tess asked.

"I suppose...maybe Lars was. Caleb left his Transceiver with Nessa." Breccia contemplated further. "They had their walkies, it's how Caleb and Morice communicated."

"I think the walkies were returned to the Lab." Neil said, racking his brains. "Oh yeah, We were using them the other day, remember? You had me go down into the basement and wanted to keep in touch."

"True, but the batteries on the walkies were low-" It suddenly hit her, like a train splattering an unlucky victim across the tracks. Going to the nearest drawer, she jerked the walkies out and tossed one to Tess. "Go to the basement real quick."

"What, why-"

"Just do it." She pointed to Maddie. "Turn the console back on." When her orders were obeyed, she brought the walkie to her mouth and pressed the switch on the side. As soon as she did, a faint, dissonant noise cut through the quiet. This resulted in the Electrode, once again, shorting out and losing consciousness. "A couple of minutes before the Palloswine went nuts, Morice mentioned the batteries on the walkies were going dry. We never had the chance to replace them. They-"

"Emit a frequency when they run low." Maddie said, catching onto her friend's epiphany.

"Lars and Caleb usually turned their Transceivers off when they were out on a job." Neil said. "So even if they had the default ringtone, Lars likely didn't know it's effects."

A wave of relief ran through the four of them. After weeks of stress and sleepless nights, they may have finally found a solution.

Leaning against the panle, Maddie chuckled. " My mother was a pianist. She told me back in mid-evil times, the church'd lob your head off if you were dumb enough to put the Devil's tritone in a hymn. It's not commonly used, even today."

Breccia attached the walkie to one of the belt loops in her jeans. She absconded Tess' when she came back inside. "Is there anyway we can make a device that emits the noise, a small one that can fit in a pocket?"

"I can get started on the equations for it." Maddie volunteered. "If Tess and Neil can get some paper so we can start on the blueprints."

"Have Tess get the paper. Neil, I want to contact Sanchez's lab and tell them we made a break through." Breccia threw on her coat. "I have to let Riker know."


	30. Chapter 29

When Kelly arrived at the Kanto Police station, she went with a few of her men.

The last time she met with Dixon, the building was stationed in Saffron. However, the Police were hoping to cover more ground, so she was brought to the substation in Fuchsia. (Which made for an agitating journey, considering she was in Johto when she was summoned).

Sitting in the interrogation room, she was in the process of examining her split ends when Dixon finally came in. As he did so, she acknowledged him, then went back to her previous activity.

"I should be excited." She said when the officer sat down. "Usually you send one of your trained apes to harass me." Despite her veneer of jest, she secretly found herself concerned. The Boss was still ill, though he had since been relocated to the hospital in Goldenrod. As to be expected, she and the other Executives were on edge. (Having a sudden demand from law enforcement didn't help).

"I felt, given the current situation, it was best we speak on neutral ground." Dixon said, tossing a folder out on the table.

"Neutral ground would be that little lunch date I've been waiting on." Glancing at the dossier before her, Kelly, who had been leaned back in her seat, sat up. "I'm guessing this is about the incident in Mt. Moon last week? We were within our rights... Granted, we blew into the side of the cave and trapped a few miners, but they got out...eventually."

Dixon, who was use to Kelly's bullshit at this point, motioned towards the two guards standing behind her. "I think it's best you dismiss your men, since you're so worried about secrecy."

"As soon as you dismiss yours." Kelly said, in reference to the two officers beside Dixon. "And so long as they keep their hands to themselves...Last time I was here, you jumped my guards and landed one in prison." She added. "Which we then proceeded to bust him out. You'd think after all these years you'd spring for better security."

Once they were alone, Dixon saw to it that the door was latched tight behind them. "We have information pertaining to the incident in Cerulean. Considering the people involved are a threat to both of us, I figured you'd be interested." He opened the folder. "We took in a handful of men, but only a couple were willing to talk." Among the papers, fingerprints and mugshots were a couple of hand written statements. "It would seem they have taken a vendetta against your Organization. And, like everything involving you people, it's splashed back on the public."

Kelly read over the documents, remembering key words to pass onto the others once she saw them. "There was an incident in Birtan not to long ago." She started. "A couple. From what one of our Executives gathered, they have a hideout stationed in Travessia."

"From the looks of it, they have them stationed all over." A map of Kanto dropped from the folder. "We had the snitches circle areas they've been congregating. They had a small group in Cinnabar and Viridian..."

"Probably in squat houses." Kelly responded. "Their organization is new, they don't have the money or man power to build a decent defense. When they receive word from the higher up, they gather a handful of men and go from there." Their adversaries were very scattered from the sounds of it, a large pool of people trying to organize themselves but having little luck. "They have a fortified area or two, but not much else..."

Dixon nodded. "We have an idea of how best to break down their defenses, but it isn't something we can do alone." He noticed a snarky smirk light up his opponent's face. "I'd prefer a level of seriousness on this matter."

"Oh of course." Kelly said, still shifting through the evidence on display. "It's just flattering to know how desperate you've become Dixy."

"Your men are the ones they're after." Dixon snapped. "If I had a chance to face them down myself, I wouldn't even consider you reprobates. But the only way we're going to find them is to-"

"Use us as bait?"

"Partially." He said. "Also, if anyone knows how the criminal mind works, it's another criminal."

Throwing her coy demeanor to the side, Kelly leaned forward. The thought of working with Dixon and his men after all that'd happened between them wasn't appetizing.

However, there was more at stake than her ego, so she'd cooperate for the time being. "Your best bet is to start from the bottom. In this confession they mention the hideout in Cinnabar. If you invade there, you might find other men that are willing to talk. Taking care of their smaller groups will eventually lead us to the source." She added. "We know of a main hideout in Birtan, but even knowing the city won't help. They're excellent at hiding themselves. I'd guess they have their lower level runners and a couple of in between men that deliver messages from the Boss himself." She strummed her fingers on the table top, an idea forming in her mind. "I have a good idea where to start, but it's going to take more than just a friendly conversation to chide me."

Dixon's brows furrowed, almost as if he knew her game. "I suppose you want us to turn the other cheek when it comes to your fiasco in Mt Moon?"

"No..." There was a snap of silence brought on by contemplation. "I want you to pull your men from Celadon."

"If you think I'm going to leave an entire city unprotected-"

"Not the city, so much as a specific building..." Kelly continued. "We've been trying to set up another Game Corner in town, but every single time I send men over to scope out the area, they're arrested. It's very inconvenient." She laced her fingers. "So if you would be willing to...maybe look away and leave the building be, I would have no issue cooperating. In return, we won't practice any activities with in the city itself. You won't even see us in the streets. The civilians can live on in ignorance, thinking their happy lives are safe, and we can go about our business without a bunch of blue suit dipshits busting down our door."

Dixon didn't put up much of a fight, something that Kelly caught onto quickly. "I suppose if that's what has to be done."

She smiled, letting her lips turn up. The grin wasn't one of acceptance, but of victory.

"Also, deputy, as a side note." She picked a pin off the collar of her shirt. It was in the shape of a clover, and she had been playing with throughout the course of their conversation. "Say hi to the camera."

"You son of a bitch-" When Dixon lunged across the table, tossing the folder and papers in a scatter. Kelly leaned back.

"Lets not get too angry, you don't want to look bad for the people." She waited until the Deputy sat back before holding the pin out to him. "You can break if you want. It won't matter. Everything you said has been sent, in full, to one of my techs. Also, before you get it in your head to go raiding my headquarters, it's not there. As we speak, multiple copies are being made and sent to every region tech that we have." A seriousness came over her, one that wreaked of smug satisfaction. "It's real easy for you to say you'll keep your promise without actually doing it. I'm not about to spill information at the risk of you stabbing us in the back. So, you'll leave our Celadon division alone, or I'm going to have our conversation leaked to every available news outlet in Kanto. Maybe even beyond, just in case you decide to flee the region once your reputation is destroyed here." She chuckled. "I'm sure you making plans with us will effect the next election...and if they were to know you inadvertently helped us get new members..." She expected some kind of response, maybe Dixon ripping the pin out of her grip and crushing. Instead he glared at her with a locked jaw, a redness crawling up his neck. "There's a boy in my branch. Very young, not even college aged. A few years back, his buddy got him a new car. Weeks later, he was pulled over by your men. Turns out, unbeknownst to him, the vehicle had been stolen. He was smacked with a grand theft charge. Luckily the judge gave him a reduced sentence, but when he got out, no one wanted to help. His parents abandoned him, his girlfriend dumped him. Being a felon, no one would hire him. He was homeless and desperate." Still receiving no response, she continued. "There's a company in Kanto that works with criminals, gives them a second chance to get on their feet. All he needed was a signature from the local Law Enforcement to say he was willing to do whatever he had to. And...I can't remember...who was the one they contacted? A certain deputy who couldn't look beyond his felony charge?" Kelly made it a point to turn the mini camera in her fingers so that it got a good look of Dixon's dishevelment. "Imagine in your mind's eye, a single mother who has no family save for her son. She turns on the news one day and sees this footage. She then realizes that the man she has trusted to keep her son safe would have no issue confining her child to a lifetime of misery simply because he made a mistake. Maybe her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That doesn't matter to you Dixy. A felon is a felon, and you'd much rather toss them aside then treat them with an ounce of human decency." She smiled, the kind of smile one would give a dear friend. "We know our reputation, but yours is one you can't afford to lose. With all that said, do we have a deal?"

Dixon clenched his fingers into fists on the table top. The red in his neck still prevalent, an angry exhale followed. "I guess we do."

With that confirmation, Kelly took her pin and snapped it in two. "Good." She added. "Every year, there's a gala that our Boss attends. They tend to jump around from region to region, as they don't want you officer types jumping in and arresting any criminals that show up."

"It's a ball to get in your Boss' good graces?"

"Not necessarily. Some do attend for that reason. But it's just a thing that happens, something fun to unwind after months of running around and trying to keep our asses out of the fire. The Boss won't be attending this year due to reasons I won't disclose, but our enemies don't know that."

"You think they'll show."

"I know they will." Having had enough with all the talking and blackmailing, Kelly stood to leave, smoothing the fabric of her navy denim dress. "Until then, your best bet is to start looking into their small settlements sprinkled throughout the region. I'd do so with caution, considering the power of their Pokemon. From what I've heard, a breakthrough has been made in order to combat them. Once I learn what can be done, I'll be sure to pass it on to you." She headed for the door, feeling victorious but also concerned about the state of their situation. "If you want to talk, just shoot me a message. I'll be in Celadon. You know how frustrating it can be, getting a business off the ground."


	31. Chapter 30

When the bandages finally came off of Nibs, Breccia found herself rejoicing.

It had been a hard six weeks. Due to his stubbornness, it took a lot of bargaining just to get him to take his meds. From stuffing the pills inside Pecha berries to grinding them up and mixing them in Moo Moo milk, by the time Nibs was ready to start flying, Breccia was ready to drop from exhaustion.

"You see them?" Breccia was up on the hill overlooking Aurora. She pointed to the Pelippers soaring through the air. "That's what you're going to do. Lets try again alright?" It was rather mild. (So much so that most of the snow had turned to mush and she only needed a light sweater).

With Nibs in her hands, she tossed him lightly. He responded by flapping his wings and going a couple of feet before tilting sideways and plopping to the ground. They had been doing laps around the apartment the day before, and he was doing an okay job of staying air born for a couple seconds each time. He was getting better, but Breccia had a feeling it was going to take a while before he was strong enough to support himself.

When she went to retrieve her Pokemon, she saw him crawling about, huffing and frustrated. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing better every day." Despite her reassurance, Nibs was in enough of a rage to throw a tantrum, shooting a concentrated blast from his tiny maw at a tree near by. It toppled over, creating a loud, resonating boom when it fell.

Breccia placed her palm to her forehead and sighed. "We really need to work on your anger issues buddy."

Riker was on his way up the hill after seeing the two from the ground below. When he crested the top he saw the product of the Zubat's ire and shook his head. "Any damage comes out of your paycheck."

His underling scoffed. "I'll plant a new one if it'll make you happy." She contemplated putting Nibs in his ball but decided against it. The last thing she wanted was him breaking free and getting pissed at her. "Before you say anything, it's my day off."

"I'm aware." He rubbed his eyes. In doing so, he brought attention to the bruised bags underneath them. "Have you heard from Tess by any chance? I received a message from her team a couple days ago, but have been unable to contact them since."

Breccia shook her head. "Not that I know of." Even though they were on edge about recent events, work still had to be done. Some were sent out to investigate the cave in the Verandi tundra, the same one where Breccia found Nibs. A part of her was happy Riker took her advice. Now that they had an idea on how to control the enemies Pokemon and how to replicate their experiments, it was safe to start looking into absconding more of Nib's kind. "I really wish I had gone instead, but Tess was feeling cramped on the island."

"We needed a lab assistant present, just in case any of our machinery broke down." Riker crossed his arms. " We should've waited until your Lab finished with the project."

Nibs was in the process of snoozing on Breccia's shirt collar, his tiny head pushed into the side of her neck. "If you could pull an extra grand out of your ass and hand it over, we'd appreciate it. Sanchez's lab wired us some cash and supplies, but they're too busy to help further." Maybe what she said was a bit harsh, but aside from today, every day prior had been nothing but constant grinding. She thought building a small device that could emit the frequency needed would be a breeze, but lack of funds said otherwise. "I'm sorry. Its been a hassle. Without Tess, we're short on staff. Maddie's stepped up, thankfully, but still."

Having grown use to Breccia's sniping attitude as of late, Riker shrugged. "If I had another man I could trust in the Lab, I'd send him over. I'd say you should just have Morice in full time with how much he hangs around there."

There was a chilled gust of wind coming in from the sea, a warning that the nice mild weather would soon turn bitter. "So, is there another reason your pestering me?" Instead of coming across angry, Breccia said it with a sarcastic smirk.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Riker paused after hearing a set of footsteps behind him. He turned to look and found Arlia, disheveled from an obvious nap. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up." He looked back to Breccia. "Within a couple weeks, there's going to be a Gala held in Travessia, north of here. Executives are usually invited to attend, but I want you to come along as well."

"A what?"

"I suppose a Ball would be a better explanation. It happens every year, and usually the Boss attends, but he won't be this time around."

"It sounds like it's more for big wigs. I don't see why you want me tagging along."

Riker heard this and took a minute to clear his throat. "We're...permitted a plus one." He then said before Breccia could speak: "However, you're the head of my Lab and we suspect-"

"The enemy will attack if they think the Boss is there."

"Exactly." Riker was told about the police cooperation from Kelly. If the lab managed to finish their project before hand, they had an advantage. "Sanchez and the others want this kept privet. If word gets out he won't be attending, it will ruin our plans. Stotler has had him relocated to a secret spot as far from the mainland as we can get. We have the police's cooperation. There isn't much else known at the moment, but I figured the two of you would understand."

Breccia rose an eye brow. "The two of us?"

"Oh, right. I invited Morice to tag along as well." Riker watched Arlia trudge over to the bench near by, yawning and sitting. She had been a bit cagey, being on the island too long often ruffled her feathers. He use to take her out to the tundra to stretch her legs, but he hadn't had time as of late. "He'll be a 'guard' to you and I. It's the only way I can get him in. The two of you survived an attack and should be prepared if they march on the gala."

"Are we both your guards?" The Lab Tech chuckled. "Because, if you haven't noticed, I'm not the most intimidating."

"He is." Riker said. "You're the...plus one."

"Ohhhh." Breccia snickered. "I'm your date."

"No, that's not what I-" Her boss caught himself. "From the outside looking in, I know how it looks, but it's all on a technicality."

"Sure."

Having no other reason to stay where they were, they both went down the hill. (A bored and cranky Arlia followed behind.) Nibs must've seen this as a prime opportunity to tease as he kept hissing and snarling at the Blaziken.

"If you keep doing that, I'll let her have you." Breccia scolded. She planned on heading back to her place and spending the rest of her day off relaxing.

Then again, her alone time was always wrought with anxiety. She was often thinking about Lab work, and with the new project they had been working on, the lack of funds and resources had been weighing heavily.

Strolling past the first set of apartment buildings, Riker took notice of a copter out front of the Organization Building. "Huh, looks like they're back...You think I would've heard that."

It took all of a couple seconds for both of them to realize all was not well. Especially when one of the grunts, who was talking with the pilot, waved Riker over.

"What's wrong?" He said this and, upon doing so, noticed a great deal of surface damage to the copter.

"They were attacked sir." The grunt said. "I haven't gotten much from them, just that they were ambushed when investigating the cave."

"Where are they now?"

"The survivors are in the infirmary."

Breccia felt a sudden stop to her pulse when she heard the word 'survivors'.

 _Tess..._

She went straight to the Nurses' office, doing so at a brisk jog that eventually turned into a run.

"There were too many of them..." The infirmary was a simple two room set up with the office up front and the actual aid station past the double doors. Of the twenty men sent, only seven grunts remained. "We tried to fight them off...but..." The grunt speaking, a young man not even a week into his position, was trying his hardest to breath and ignore the quivering in his voice. "They blew out the cave, we had no way of getting in when we arrived." He and a few others had minor wounds, while a few were nursing burns. A couple had broken bones with one unable to use both legs. (Breccia figured the ride back to Aurora must've been torturous for him). "We ran for the Helicopter, and they kept attacking. I'm surprised we got it off the ground."

Since the attack prior, the Nurse took up a couple of assistants. They were doing their best to treat the startled, shaken men. "There's not much we can do with this one." One of the assistants said, referring to the man who's legs were in shatters. "We have him in splints, but he'll need hospital attention."

Riker looked at what remained of the group. "How were they aware of our mission?"

Another Grunt, one with only a few minor scrapes spoke up. "A couple members of the team. They-"

"Defected?"

"Y-yes sir."

Breccia looked about at the surviving men. Her pity for them was suddenly undermined by her original intention, finding out where her technician was. "Where's Tess? The Tech that went with you?"

"She's with the Nurse." An assistant spoke.

Breccia needed no other bidding and pushed past the crowd in the waiting room. As she neared the double doors, Morice came out.

He'd been on duty when the copter landed and took upon himself to help the men out before Riker arrived. He was, as to be expected, not in the best of moods and stopped Breccia before she could blow past him.

"I need to check on Tess."

Her excuse was waved off when he put a hand to her shoulder and held her back.

"The Nurse is busy with her. Give it time."

"I'm not going to just stand here and ignore-"

Morice's demand was said in such a way that it cut any defense from her. "Not now Breccia." He swallowed, steadying himself and taking a sharp breath in as Riker came up to the two. "I had to carry her in here. She's not in the best frame of mind right now. Hysterics won't help." Having seen Tess curled on the floor of the copter, beaten and shaking, lit a fire in him that had yet to be quenched. She was a mess emotionally and physically and he was trying his best to keep a straight face. "They..." He glanced to his boss. "They got to her."


	32. Chapter 31

When his eyes opened at first, he didn't recognize the room. Sanchez mentioned they were relocating, but he was too weak to stay awake for the process.

The space was dark. It was another hospital from the looks of it: sterile, clean, and quiet. In the corner, he recognized a two figures whispering in hushed conversation.

"He's no better than when you saw him last." Sanchez said, speaking to Riker. "But he isn't any worse. I suppose we should be grateful."

From his end, Riker wasn't sure how to feel. He left Aurora shortly after the last attack. Tess was still with the nurse, and the Lab was short another member. Granted, Breccia could hold the fort, but there was a great deal of nerves leaving the island unattended.

 _What if there's another attack..._

He recalled his conversation with Breccia, and her mention of how she should've been the one to go on the mission.

It was horrible no matter who was involved, but...

 _What if it had been her..._

He clenched the hands that were in his pockets. He'd give Donna a call once he had a chance, in order to check on things.

His anxiety was through the roof. This was something Arlia must've noticed because she seemed just as stressed.

"I heard about what happened..." Sanchez spoke quietly, taking notice of the Boss once he woke.

"Stotler tell you?" Riker was soft when speaking. The last thing he wanted was for his nerves to bubble over and make a show. Being uneasy was one thing. As of late, however, he could hardly sleep. He was a taunt rope worn away to its last frayed thread. "I've called a halt to all activity off the island. I brought any men from the mainland back in. Its best we huddle together and figure things out. They can pick us off if we spread."

"Perhaps it'd be best if we pulled support from there all together." Sanchez said.

"I never said-"

"You can barely run the place in your current condition."

Riker knew Sanchez was trying to be helpful. He was from a different time, he had seen the organization fall before. The last thing he'd want was to pick up the pieces for a second time. Regardless, hearing Sanchez's flippant tone when it came to shutting the Aurora facility down lit a flame to his temper. "I'm managing fine." He said this through clenched teeth.

"Not from the looks of it." Sanchez continued, making things worse. "If we have to make cuts, it'll be the first to go. The other executives have made mention of it too-" This was the final straw.

"So the three of you are talking behind my back?" Riker snapped. "Is that what you do in your spare time while our enemies pick us apart?"

Had it been Kelly or Stotler, this is where the conversation would've ended. They'd have likely stepped back and given Riker a chance to breath.

Sanchez, on the other hand, was prideful. He wasn't one to back down unless forced. "Listen boy, I'm thinking ahead. Maybe you should put your anger down long enough to see that."

"When I have everything I've worked hard to obtain questioned, I have the right to be angry."

"And you don't think I feel the same way?" Sanchez said, gruff but not as ragefull. "I've seen the lowest it can get and I don't want that again. You claim to care but your quick to flip your lid the moment your ego is called into question."

If that's how it looked, that wasn't what Riker was intending. The stress of his position plus everything that had been plopped in his lap doused his fuse and Sanchez's lecture lit the match. "Two days ago, an entire search team was wiped out. One of my lab assistants was dragged off and assaulted. Since you know so much, please tell me how I should react to that."

Sanchez watched him, his gaze without emotion. After a while, he pursed his lips and shook his head. "...Getting tangled up in useless emotions...you can grow up all you want but you're still a child."

Riker's next reaction was to reach out and seize the old man by the collar of his shirt.

It wasn't done with thought. It was automatic, as if his emotions had quashed all logic.

What would have been the biggest mistake of his career thus far was thwarted by two factors: One being Arlia, who sensed the oncoming danger and clasped onto his free arm.

And, of course, the Boss calling from the bed.

"That's enough!" Pressing a button and pulling the bed into an upright position, his voice snapped both men to attention and put an end to the drama at hand.

"Sir I was-" Not thinking, Riker attempted to defend himself and received the usual response.

"You'll speak when I tell you to, boy." His Grandfather turned to Sanchez next. "For such a smart man, your idiocy amazes me." Sanchez's earlier arrogance had all but melted away, leaving a nervous man in its place. "Had I no care for you, I'd have let him follow through." Despite his emaciated state, The Boss pointed towards the door. "Leave us."

Sanchez bowed his head. "Yes sir..."

As soon as he left, Riker took the reprieve to release the rage coursing through his system. Instead of Sanchez, the wall got the brunt of his rage. He wheeled back and slammed his fist into the surface of the west wall. At the time it seemed like the best way to relieve his aggression, but the pain that followed spoke otherwise. There was a resonating _crack_ as the second knuckle dislocated. After which, a sharp, intense pain shot into his shoulder.

Pulled from the haze that once controlled him, Riker stepped away from the decent sized crack he made in the cheap plaster. Glancing down at this hand, he noticed a sudden swelling and felt a deep regret for what he had done. (He also realized just how hard he would've hit Sanchez had he not been stopped.)

 _Still a child._

He clenched his jaw.

 _Only a child would lose his mind..._

What Sanchez said was true.

He didn't deserve his position. He was a weakling, a spineless idiot who let stress tare him down.

Turning back to face the verbal lashing he was sure to get, he swallowed his nerves and fear. "I suppose..." He started, the throbbing in his arm now more noticeable. "It's best if I resign my position at this point." If he really cared about the organization, he'd do everything he could to help. Clearly, being where he was wasn't the best.

The Boss narrowed his eyes . In spite of this, it was impossible to read his expression. "Step closer." Straightening his posture, he waited until his Grandson stood directly beside him before continuing further. "So, this is how it's going to be?" He asked, waiting for an answer and receiving silence. "My entire life's work cast aside because my Executives can't find common ground?" A raspy cough came next, causing the aging man to gasp in an attempt to catch his breath. Taking a few deep breaths in (as deep as he could get), he sighed. "Perhaps Sanchez was right. You are a child." When Riker looked away he snapped his fingers. "You come to my room, cause a scene and then tell me you want to walk away. Child indeed. Only children would be ungrateful for the life I've given you!" It didn't matter how old he was, or how weak, when it came time to be angry and take charge, it was like a second skin. "I'll be lucky if I last the year and this is how it ends?"

"N-no sir." Riker managed a couple words. He wanted to explain more but knew it would only make things worse. "I meant no disrespect-"

"That's what you gave me." The Boss said. "You might as well have spit in my face." Crossing his arms, he took notice of the painful swelling in Riker's hand. "You've never dealt with your anger like you should...how do you expect to earn respect after I'm gone?" When he given no response he added: "Well?"

Riker heard _after I'm gone_ and took a shaky breath. "I'll likely die before any of them respect me." Kelly and Stotler, while civil and willing to acknowledge his strength, looked to him as older siblings would a little brother. And Sanchez...well...it was obvious what he thought. "I doubt that will change with whomever you choose to take your place." He half expected another scolding, as he knew that wasn't the best answer. Instead, there was a deafening silence.

It was so dense Riker felt a sharp ringing in his ears.

"Whomever I choose?" The Boss repeated the last part, as if he hadn't heard correctly. "You say that as if I haven't chosen already. I _chose_ years ago...and when the time comes that he stops punching walls, I'll take him seriously."

Having barely been able to handle all that had come his way, the new prospect just foisted on him left Riker wanting for an explanation. "What do you mean-"

His mind took the revelation and ran with it, frightening him more.

 _Taking over?_

 _I can't...I can barely deal as is..._

"Sir I don't deserve... I... I can hardly handle everything right now-"

"You wanted to resign, I have a new position for you."

"I'm not ready." All Riker could hear was the thunderous thumping of his frantic heart. If his Grandfather thought dropping this kind of bomb on him would help, he was mistaken. (It only made his anxieties worse.)

Pointing to the chair seated next to his bed, the Boss ordered once more. "Sit." Like a child in fear of punishment, the other man obeyed, sitting and clenching into the legs of his pants. "If the thought ever crossed my mind that you weren't prepared, I wouldn't have said." He placed his hand upon his grandchild's head. "You don't say when you're ready. _I_ do." Though his words were terse, his grip was gentle. "It's your job to earn their respect, and you will with time. Don't question my motives otherwise."

Riker swallowed. "Yes sir."


	33. Chapter 32

Stumbling from of his apartment, Morice tripped over the last set of steps.

Glancing out at the island before him, he sighed, his breath billowing through his nostrils like smoke from an angered Torkol.

The temperature was dropping as of late, far worse than he'd ever seen. With windchill as a factor, the nights were dipping to twenty below, sometimes closer to forty. Guard sentries were kept to a minimum and most stayed close to the Organization building. It was too dangerous otherwise.

Ducking into a quiet ally, Morice pulled the collar of his coat up over his mouth.

Usually, the monotony of things was enough to numb his thoughts. However, with the sudden shut down and Riker's orders for no one to leave the island, the monotony of a long shift gave Morice something to focus on.

Turning the corner sharply, he was lost in his imaginings when a small figure smacked into him, toppling to the ground and landing ass first in the snow.

Maddie glanced up from where she sat and sighed. "I'm glad I bumped into you instead."

Morice helped her up, caught on the final word she spoke. "What are you doing back here, the lab's that way." He looked over her shoulder and saw two grunts strolling in their direction. "Those guys giving you trouble?"

Maddie tucked a strand of her coal black hair behind her ear, lowering her head. "Nothing serious..." The heavy breath she released caused her glasses to fog. "I've been taking the long way around...to avoid them."

The two men in particular stopped when they saw Morice standing next to their target. While one seemed smart enough to back down, the other was too dim witted. "Hey honey, you get yourself a bodyguard?"

Morice wasn't too familiar with many on the island. Due to the bitter cold, many grunts would cut their losses early and transfer out before he could learn their names.

When Maddie took a step closer to him, as if to shield herself, he took the initiative. "You idiots have a job to do, get back to your station."

Not swayed, the more vocal of the offenders laughed. "Please, we haven't laid a finger on her."

Morice gritted his teeth. He was hoping his threat would work. (It was too damn cold if they called his bluff). "Take another step and I'll drag your sorry ass up to Riker. We'll see what he has to say." That effectively ended things.

As the two guards stalked away he added: "I better not see you talking to her again." Turning towards the lab, he motioned Maddie to follow. "Low lives..."

Maddie chuckled. "Aren't we all though?"

She was answered with a shrug. "Even we have limits."

They struggled through the razor sharp winds and spitting snow for a bit longer, trying in vain to make it up the small slope to the main square. Going past the Operation building, the lab was just on the horizon. "D'you hear about the relocation?"

Maddie's question took Morice's mind away from his self loathing. (All he could think about was the last time he had had a decent drink). "The what?"

"I guess a bunch of grunts are signing for the first trip out of here. They're heading to Kanto." The lone lab assistant frowned. "With how tough things are, I can see why."

The thought of warmer pastures was always an appetizing prospect, though the thought never crossed Morice's mind. "I don't blame them."

"I didn't know if you were signed on to leave."

"I don't-" Morice paused. "Kanto?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head. "I've got a lot of crap back there. If I'm ever dumb enough to leave here, I'd probably just bury myself in a hole."

"Got a warrant?" As they approached the Lab, Maddie, who had her collar popped to fend off the wind, smoothed it down.

"My old man lives there." Morice opened the door for her. "I don't want to risk making things awkward."

As to be expected, Breccia was already in, looming over paper work and trying her damnedest to stay awake. Before Morice could call out to her, a fast, green blur streaked across his vision. He jumped back. "What the hell was that?"

Breccia glanced up, as if the little streak bolting around the room were nothing more than a gust of wind. "Just Nibs. He finally got his wings going and I haven't been able to stop him." She shook her head. "He was zooming all over the living room last night. He's been going at it for two days." She noticed Maddie. "Did you two meet up outside?"

"Yeah, a couple of guys were giving her a tough time. I walked her here." Approaching the table, Morice received a playful punch to the shoulder.

"Aren't you the perfect gentleman?"

"Please." He tried to pass it off as nothing serious. "If I hadn't done something, my mother would've rolled in her grave." With most of the lights off in the lab save for a few hanging above their heads, Morice took note of the several, stained coffee mugs scattered about the place. There were a few by the sink, one by the coffee pot and another on the floor by the far west wall. Breccia's coat was tossed haphazardly on a stand of beakers and she herself was dressed in a pair of sweatpants. Her tangled, messy hair was piled on her head with one clip holding her sandy, brown locks in place. "You look like hell."

Breccia yawned. "You might want to work on your pick up lines Casanova." She placed a hand to her stomach when it gurgled.

"Have you been eating?" Morice's concern was waved out of hand.

"I'm fine."

A horrible liar at best, her friend wasn't convinced. Instead of confronting her, (as he knew that would get him no where), he reached into his pocket. Pulling out what was left of his breakfast (a half eaten Ragecandybar) he called upwards. "Hey peanut, get down here."

Nibs fluttered down, giving his wings a second of respite and balancing his tiny body on top of the coffee pot. Turning his little eye-less face towards Morice, he leaned in, mouth agape.

Morice broke off a small edge and dropped in the Zubat's mouth. (Like a coin in a vending machine).

Once the proper offering was given, Nibbles was open to questioning.

"Has she been eating?"

Nibs chewed and swallowed. After which, he shook his head and jumped back into the air once more.

Breccia put a hand on her hip. "You little traitor." Before she could object, what was left of the candy bar was thrust in her grasp. "Morice I don't need-"

"Eat it." Her friend reached back into his pocket. "I'll bring you lunch on my break."

Not fond of being given orders (as of late anyway), Breccia was tempted to argue. However, the moment she took a nibble, it lit a fire in her gut and she swallowed the rest without tasting it.

It wasn't that she chose to starve herself, she simply forgot with everything else that had been on her mind. Her main diet as of late had been coffee and the occasional granola bar. "You don't have to bring me lunch, I'll go out and get something if I have the time."

"Keyword: _If._ Let me bring you lunch." Morice added. "Or else."

Breccia rose an eyebrow. "Or else what?"

There was a second of deep contemplation. "Or else I'm...going to stuff Peanut full of sugar and leave you to deal with him."

"You wouldn't dare..."

"Try me." Pulling out his Pokeball, he added: "Anyway, aside from blackmail, I need help with Pecks."

Breccia put down her fifth cup of coffee, concerned. "What's wrong?" She paused when she heard Maddie struggle out of the utility closet, show shovel in hand.

"Well..." Morice sent Pecks out.

Instead of the tiny Spearow Breccia had come to know (and even babysit) over the course of the last few months, a large, mighty Fearow came out instead. Plopping down on the table among all the papers, the Pokemon started preening herself.

"Woah." The Lab technician's eyes widened. "When did that happen?"

"Last night." Morice crossed his arms. "I asked if she was hungry and I guess she was super stoked about dinner." Pecks picked at the top of her trainer's head, in a show of affection. "If you have a clue, I'd like to hear it."

Stroking her chin, Breccia watched the Pokemon groom her trainer. (This was something Morice must've been use to because he didn't bother to swat her away). "Sometimes Pokemon evolve when they get to be too powerful."

Morice scoffed. "Who knew microwave ramen encouraged such power."

Thinking back to her time at her father's clinic, Breccia continued: "Dad had a Charmeleon evolve at the clinic once. It's tail flame almost went out and he was in critical condition for days. After he came to, I guess he had a surge of strength and it pushed him to the limit." She stroked the top of Peck's head when the Pokemon turned to her. "I've also heard stories of Pokemon evolving in times of crisis. Like, their trainers are in danger and they can't save them in their current state. For example, a little boy is drowning and his Poliwag can't help, so he forces himself to evolve. I've never seen it myself but I've heard about it." When Pecks expanded her wings, Breccia took notice of several bald patches on her stomach. "What's going on here?"

"That's the other reason." Morice said. "She molts every year, but it's never been this bad."

Breccia touched one of the raw, red area's, taking note when the Fearow started to gnaw on it. "It looks like she's over-grooming. She might just be stressed."

"I usually let her fly around on the hill to burn off energy, but with the weather..."

"I'd say let her fly around your place, but she's a little too big for that now." Breccia opened a drawer underneath the coffee pot, pulling out a stash of poffins she kept for Nibs (when he behaved). She took out a blue one and placed it on the table for Pecks to eat. "You say every year, how long have you had her?"

Letting his Pokemon finish her snack, Morice waited until she was ready before putting her back in her ball. "About three. On my first trip through the mainland, I found her underneath a tree. She was injured trying to defend her nest, something attacked her and stole all of her eggs. Once I nursed her back to health, I told her she was free to go. She chose to stick around."

" _She_ chose, huh?" Breccia snickered. "You know, maybe she evolved because she was happy? She was grateful for all you've done and that was her only way of showing you." She smiled clicked off rather quickly when Maddie came back in, almost as if her coworker coming in served as a reminder. "I better get back to work. I have to contact the other Lab and see how things are going."

A master of seeing right through her ruse, Morice shook his head. "You sure that's all that's bugging you?"

Instead of lying, Breccia decided there was no point. Rather then blurt out how she was feeling though, she leaned against the table, taking her hair down and running her fingers through her scalp. "It's a bunch of little things..."

"Like?"

Even knowing she could speak without fear of judgment, it was still difficult to find the words. "It's...been a year since dad died." She refused to look up at her friend when she said it. Instead, she cast her vision towards the ground. "All I've been able to think of is that phone call... the warden said my lawyer was on the line. I was a week from getting out." Her voice shook a little. "I was so excited to see him again..." She stiffened when her friend put an arm around her. Even though there was discomfort, she leaned into the contact and put her head against his shoulder. "Then all this stuff with the gala-"

Morice cut her off. "When is that by the way?"

"Next weekend." Breccia grumbled. "We were able to make a prototype, something small that can fit into the cuff on a suit jacket. It should emit the frequency, we've tested it numerous times. I sent the results to Sanchez's lab. They have more money to toss around so they made a couple more." She inhaled, observing Morice's faint cologne. "It's just frustrating. I keep worrying something will go wrong. What if Lars found the flaw and fixed it? If they show at the ball and this doesn't work, we're screwed...and then there's everything with Tess." Breaking free from her friend's embrace, she crossed her arms.

"How is she?" Morice noticed a rash of goosebumps running along her skin.

"As good as she can be. She's eating and sleeping, like nothing's wrong. I stayed with her Monday, and Maddie's been with her for the rest of the week." Still tugging at her hair, what can only be called a growl of frustration escaped from her. "Riker asked for _me_ to go on that trip but she wanted to get off the damn island for a couple of days." Cradling her face in her hands, she mumbled. "She didn't deserve that. It should've been me."

A mess of emotions, Breccia tried to steady her breathing. She was so focused on calming her nerves that she didn't see when Morice approached and took her by the wrists.

Gently pulling them down to free her vision, he ordered. "Look at me." He waited until she did so before continuing. "What happened to Tess is awful, and every piece of crap involved is going to get one hell of a beating if I ever get my hands on them." Clenching his grip, Morice chose his next words carefully. "But if that had been you, I wouldn't have stopped until they were dead."

Surprisingly, Breccia smiled a little, the left side of her mouth turning up. "You know." She chuckled. "I don't deserve you."

Morice managed one final sentence. "I'll be the judge of that."

In the second that followed, the lab door flung open, slamming into the wall behind.

Arlia stood in the opening, taking a moment to shake the accumulation of snow from her feathers. She saw the two by the table and narrowed her eyes. This was less towards Breccia and more towards Morice. (Since he still had Breccia by the arms).

Breccia shook herself loose, surprised to see the Blaziken without her trainer. "Where's Riker?" She received an answer when Arlia motioned behind herself.

"If I didn't know any better-" Morice took the initiative to leave, but not before giving his friend an affectionate pat on the back. "I'd say she wants to chuck me out a window."

"You can go out the back if you want." Breccia whispered, capturing Arlia's attention so Morice could dodge the scorn she was laying upon him. "...Can I help you?"

Reaching out, Arlia pointed to her left claw. Breccia took notice and (gingerly) took hold. She sighed when she saw a great deal of swelling. "Looks like a sprain. Have you been punching walls again?"

Arlia nodded.

"Better than people, I guess."

Riker shut the door when he finally made it in. It was obvious by the thin, corduroy coat about his shoulders, that he was almost frozen through. (Even with the stocking cap keeping his ears warm). "That's what I told her. We can't afford any more broken bones." Instead of speaking further to Breccia, Riker spotted Maddie and addressed her instead. "Did you get my text?"

Maddie, still bundled from outside, nodded. "Yeah, I decided not to tell her. I figured you wanted to."

Dumping the last of the ground laden coffee into the trash, Breccia sat the pot in the sink. "Tell me what?" She added. "Wait, since when did she have your number."

"Just to keep an eye on the lab." Maddie said. "In case he can't get a hold of you." Taking a hold of the Pokeball she kept in her lab coat, she sighed. "Considering how stressed you've been, he figured I was a better option."

"Stressed or not, you can still speak to me." Breccia watched as Maddie let good ol' Buzz out.

Every day, she made several, vain attempts to connect with her Pokemon. Though, no matter how hard she tried, it would blow it's top in a matter of seconds.

When it began to glow however, Breccia was having none of it. "Don't you even." She snapped, catching the Pokemon's attention. "You blow your top in this lab one more time, I'll roll you into the sea." She folded her arms once the Electrode calmed itself. "Maddie, if you want to train him, take him outside."

"Yes'm..." As the uncontrollable Electrode and his frustrated owner left, they were only outside a total of five seconds before a loud explosion rocked the side of the building. Breccia rolled her eyes. "I love that girl, but she needs to grow a spine." Expecting Riker to agree, as he was always complaining about the pathetic grunts, she was taken back when he shrugged.

"She'll learn."

Breccia's brows rose.

"She'll learn?" She teased. "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were going soft Mr. Executive."

Riker gave a forced laugh, mostly out of contempt. "Not Mr. Executive for very long." He figured, of all people, Breccia was golden when it came to keeping her mouth shut. She hadn't let him down yet.

The smile fell from Breccia's face, and an odd worry took it's place. "What do you mean?..." She thought of her word choice, wondering it if sounded ridiculous. "Did they fire you?"

"Promoted, I guess." Her superior muttered. "When the Boss passes, I'll...you know."

"So you're gonna be-"

"Yeah..."

Breccia's eyes widened. "Woah..."

Arlia, who had been strolling around the lab flippantly, swatted at Nibs when he swooped down and smacked into her shoulder.

Breccia pursed her lips. "Neither of you seem very happy."

Hands clenched, Riker ran his fingers through his hair. Hair that, as the Lab coordinator noticed, had been freshly dyed. "Because I don't deserve it."

"Says who?"

"Says me." He exhaled, his breath sharp enough to cut glass. "Ever since I was a boy he planned for it. If he had told me, maybe I'd have tried harder to prove myself."

Breccia frowned. "Clearly you already have if he chose you." Trying to defuse the situation, she added: "I mean, he was willing to pick you instead of his own son-" Before the words left her tongue, a frantic inhale from Arlia could be heard.

Riker snapped from anxious to threatening, waving the conversation away with the same sternness Breccia remembered from their first interaction. "Do not. Mention him."

The rage that flashed across his face left Breccia scared, almost as if a rabid creature had overtaken him.

In the silent moment that followed, she felt an unfamiliar terror and wondered if she had just screwed herself out of a job.

"I-I'm sorry."

There was a twinge of guilt from Riker's end. "It's fine." He said. "You didn't know." What was once tense turned to awkward very quickly. "Whatever you do, don't encourage his mention around here. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good." Taking a moment to breath, his shoulders relaxed. Reaching into the front pocket of his jacket, he retrieved a folded piece of paper. "Here. Sorry to make the situation terse. My intention was to give you this." His underling reached out and took it with unsure hands. "When I was away, I contacted Maddie to check on you. She mentioned you weren't doing well, so I decided to make a stop to the capital." He smirked. "Pay a visit to the gym."

The color drained from Breccia's face, remembering that her brother was the gym leader in Birtan City. "...What did you do?"

"Nothing major." Riker teased. "Threatened to have my men tare the building apart board by board...unless he gave me what I wanted." He motioned towards the note.

Breccia unfolded it, smoothing it over her knee. It was a hastily scribbled map, drawn in frantic handwriting on lined paper.

"There's another island, about ten minutes from here. It's been deserted for years. I had some men search the place, just to make sure none of our enemies were hold up there." Riker continued despite Breccia's confusion. "There's a large tree at the center. An ancient oak from what I was told. Your father's buried at the base."

It didn't seem to click with Breccia at first. She stared at the map, digesting Riker's words like an Ekans swallowing a large meal.

It was only when a droplet landed in the center of the page that she realized she was crying.

Her next reaction was automatic. She embraced her boss in a sudden hug, wrapping her arms around his neck as tears poured down her cheeks.

Unsure how to react, Riker allowed the action to continue, but didn't respond.

He glanced to Arlia who, in turn, shrugged.

"Th-thank you so much." Breccia sobbed, her voice hitching.

There was never a day in the last year that she forgot her dad. She often wondered where he was. She also wondered, if there was heaven, how he'd feel about her current situation.

She and her brother's relationship had always been stringent. In his bitterness, he tried to take her past life away.

Maybe now, she could finally tell her father goodbye.


	34. Chapter 33

_**She tucked him into bed that night. Having just gotten off from her first job, she popped in long enough to make dinner.**_

 _ **"You're off tomorrow?" He asked this, sitting up in bed as she picked a ratty looking book off the shelf.**_

 _ **In the final days of her life, they had settled in Celadon. They lived in an abandoned apartment that was both cheap, but falling apart. Management cared very little for it. (Considering the last tenet died two decades prior.)**_

 _ **"Sure am." As she sat down beside him, she winced in pain. She'd been sick towards the end, very frail. Doctors kept telling her to get help, recommending certain specialists, but it was never in the budget.**_

 _ **Even with her frailty, there was a grace to her. Her smile could light up a room and her long, black hair always hung to her back in thick waves. He'd often play with them when he sat in her lap, tugging at the ends as he rested his head on her shoulder.**_

 _ **She was hardly ever around, due to work, but even as a boy, he understood. She'd come home from a sixteen hour day and still find the energy to take him to the park, help him with school work; whatever she could to be with him.**_

 _ **He'd tell her she never needed a boyfriend because he would protect her instead. She always laughed at this.**_

 _ **"Auntie will be over in the morning." That final night, she read him his favorite bedtime story, kissed him, then paused in the doorway to watch as he dozed.**_

 _ **The next morning, he found Auntie crying at the kitchen table.**_

The phone's shrill tone startled him, causing Riker to jump.

"What?" He answered before the fog cleared, not catching the first words spoken. "...What...the copter?" It took a second for reality to hit him. "Oh...no Arlia's taking it...yeah, she's taking Breccia off island...keep an eye out and tell me when they return."

He hung up then, framing his face in his hands. There was a kink in his neck and a dull ache in his back. Turning to the cup of coffee he poured, he took a gulp.

He had almost forgot what it was like to dream. As of late, he'd usually pass out and wake the next morning with no recollection.

Before he had the chance to fall back to sleep or ruminate on what he had seen, Donna came in without knocking. (To date she was only person allowed to do so).

She had that look on her face... _that_ look. The same one Riker got as a child before every whipping. "What is this?" She demanded, holding up a tupperware dish.

Riker sighed, placing his palm against his cheek. "A bowl."

Ms. Moore clenched her jaw before taring the lid off. "It's the lunch I made you yesterday. You left it in the mini fridge."

Riker rolled his eyes. "Donna please."

"Don't you roll your eyes at me mister." She dropped another empty dish down on his desk. "I saw Arlia licking this one clean when I came in last night."

"You saying she can't eat?"

"I already made a bowl for her. Is my cooking not good enough anymore?"

"For the love of-" Riker inhaled, trying to talk down his temper. (He knew better than to snap at his secretary). "Could you not today? Please?"

The tone of his voice must've tipped Donna off. She frowned. "What's wrong honey?"

"Nothin-" The lie caught in his throat when common sense tapped him on the shoulder. Lying to Donna was a death sentence. "...Nothing you can do much about." He wasn't sure how to explain what he saw when his eyes were closed.

It would seem Donna had her own idea of what the matter was. She sat on the edge of his desk, brushing a strand of bangs from his forehead. "You know he wouldn't have chose you if you weren't right for the part."

Riker rubbed his eyes, still groggy. "Yeah."

Ms. Moore chuckled. "Where's your little friend? The one you're always talking to?...Brenda?"

"Breccia." There was a pause. "And she isn't a _'little friend'_. I'm an adult Donna, not a child in need of a play date."

His aunt sighed. "I know. It's so hard not to picture that little boy...had to have the same bedtime story every night."

Remembering that last story his mother told, the last time he saw her alive, Riker winced. (At this point, it was the only thing he could think of).

What would she think, seeing him where he was now?

Wasn't this what she was trying to escape? She worked herself to death, literally, to provide a better future for him.

"Do you think..." He began, thinking whether or not to continue. "Do you think she'd be proud...seeing where I am?"

Donna didn't need to know _who._ There was only one woman Riker ever spoke of. "Sweetie...She'd be happy-" Her voice faded, as if her thoughts were interrupted. "She'd...She wanted you taken care of. After what happened, this was the only option for you. I doubt she'd be angry."

Riker held the bridge of his nose when another headache splashed across his forehead. "She didn't want me here."

"Honey, she'd already reached out to your grandfather before she...died. It's true, she never planned on him actually getting you-" Donna frowned. "-but I was already too old back then. As long as you didn't end up like your father, she was fine."

He resisted the urge to end the conversation then and there. "Angry and bitter..." Coffee cup still in his grasp, Riker clenched into it. "How am I any better when every mention of him sends me into a rage?" His heart beating in rapid succession, he tried to swallow it back. He knew saying such words was an insult to those who raised him.

"Would you hurt those you love? To get even?" Donna asked, saying it at a near whisper.

Instead of a vocal answer, she received a shake of the head.

Stroking the side of her nephew's cheek with the back of her knuckles, she smiled. "You're nothing alike sweetie. Try to remember that."

When she left the room, she did so in silence. The quiet that followed stretched for a while after. It was palpable, as if Riker could reach out and touch it.

He lost track of how long he was sitting at his desk, doing nothing save for picking at the dinner left behind.

When his phone rang once more, he took notice of the time that passed.

"Yeah." With a mouth full of ramen, he struggled to swallow. "What?"

'Sir?' The grunt on the other end sounded nervous. 'You mentioned Arlia took the copter?'

 _That didn't take long._ "Yeah, she and Breccia back already?"

'N-no sir. We've lost contact.'


	35. Chapter 34

The trip started smooth.

The weather, while cold, was clear. No snow was in the forecast and the sky was almost devoid of clouds.

Sitting in the passenger's seat of the copter, Breccia hugged her coat tighter. It was Sunday, her only day off. Riker was willing to let her visit her father's grave any other day, but she didn't want to inconvenience the lab. She only had Neil and Maddie and, as of late, they weren't getting along.

Breccia did good about keeping things calm but the tension bubbled over the Thursday prior. She and Riker came into the lab to find the two at each other's throats. Neither knew what the conflict was about but Riker put a stop to it quickly. (Breccia took note of how he seemed far more angry at Neil than Maddie).

"They're keeping tabs on us." Breccia said into her Transceiver. "...Morice I'll be fine... I know I always say that, and I am ALWAYS fine. I told Riker to let you know if anything happened...because I don't want you to have a heart attack." She looked to the pilot seat and noticed when Arlia rolled her eyes. "...I have to go. I'll call you when I'm on my way back." She slipped the device into one of her pockets, adjusting her seat belt. "Sorry, he gets worried sometimes."

The island they were heading to was a ways off. By ferry it'd take, roughly, a couple hours to reach. Lucky for both of them, Riker was willing to let the copter go. This made the round trip half of what it would've been.

"So..." Fiddling with her thumbs, Breccia cleared her throat. "D'you fly often?..." She joked: "I mean, you are a bird so..." Arlia, once again, rolled her eyes. "Sorry Riker roped you into babysitting me." She tried to pick up the Pokemon's spirits with her next sentence. "You're one of the strongest on the Island, sending a grunt along wouldn't have been much help."

No answer.

Breccia sighed. "Alright. Look, I know you hate me. I'm not trying to get in the middle of whatever friendship you and Riker have. My life fell apart in this direction, I didn't plan on coming here."

Arlia tugged on the wheel when the copter sputtered. After everything evened out, she glanced to her passenger and shook her head.

"You don't hate me?" Breccia said, trying to translate. "Like on a scale of one to ten?"

The Blaziken thought for a moment before holding up two fingers.

"Okay...that's good I guess." She tugged on the strap across her chest. "Though you do only have six fingers..." She turned to stare out the window, trying to see the island in the distance. They'd been riding for ten minutes at this point, the occasional chatter from the radio was all that ensued between them.

To keep herself occupied, Breccia's mind wondered to the Lab. They were making the last finishing touches to their new invention for the gala. The gala itself was only a week away, and she had nothing to wear for the occasion. She figured, maybe, Maddie or Tess could help her. Though, Tess was still on indefinite leave and she worried about stressing her.

 _After all this business is done, then what?_

Breccia scraped her fingertips through her hair, trying to put her thoughts at ease. It was hard to believe it'd only been a few months since she arrived. Everything went to shit so quickly, she never once stopped to think of how long it had been. She arrived, Caleb died, Lars went AWOL, next thing she knows she's heading the lab.

Of course there were some good things. She and Morice were getting along. And, of course, there was Nibs. (Who was currently in his Pokeball).

There was a small snap of static from the radio, a response to Arlia messing with the buttons.

"We lose signal?"

Arlia nodded to the question.

Breccia frowned. "Here's to hoping Riker doesn't think we're in trouble."

* * *

Arlia was a masterful flyer, something Breccia found was impressed with.

When they landed and got out, Breccia took in the surroundings with a feeling to both hope and anger. The island seemed almost dead. The trees stood bare, their limbs flapping uselessly in the breeze. The ground was frozen, the foliage and grass either brown or covered in a small peppering of snow.

For miles it was nothing but trees, save for an abandoned lighthouse that she saw as they descended.

Shortly before his death, her father had bought a plot of land close to Mt. Moon. In his youth he often helped the miners there and that's where he wanted to rest. While it didn't surprise Breccia that Shale went against their father's wishes, to see the drab, cold place he was buried filled her with contempt.

"The tree should be at the center of the island." Breccia said, pulling out the crude map Riker gave her. "I wish we could've parked closer, but there's too many trees." She pulled her coat closed when a sharp wind ripped through, tossing her hair about.

It was mild, not as bitter as it usually was. Despite this, it was overcast and Breccia could smell the coming of rain. "Come on." She said to Arlia. "I want to see dad before the weather gets worse."

Luckily for both of them, finding the tree where her father lay was easy. It was a massive, thick specimen with dark bark. It stood against the wind like the others around it. At it's base stood a crude, wooden cross smashed into the dirt.

On said cross, a small chain was wrapped with a silver, rusted pendant. Breccia hadn't ever seen it before and figured it was something her brother put there.

As she and Arlia approached, her anger towards Shale began to fade.

With her lips pursed, she stopped at the base of the tree.

"I guess..." She started, speaking more to herself than to Arlia. "...This was his way of mourning..." Shale must've known he was coming to Birtan before their father passed. Perhaps, he still wanted to mourn. Having their dad buried here made for convenience. (It didn't make it right, going against his wishes, but Breccia was starting to understand).

Getting down on her knees, she glanced at the makeshift grave.

Here that amazing man was, in the cold wet ground. Away from his friends and family.

No one could find him. All of those kids he took in when the Gym was open; they couldn't pay their respects.

Pulling a crumpled envelope from her pants pocket, Breccia was gentle when taking a small bit of dirt from the grave.

She expected to cry, like she had when Riker gave her the news. Instead, all she felt was joy that she could finally close this chapter of her life.

"I might not be able to move him." She folded the envelope and placed it into her jeans. "But maybe I can take this there...give him some closure."

She put her hand on the grave, ignoring when a spiderweb of lightening crawled across the sky. "I'm sorry daddy...I never had the chance to apologize..." Her voice shook. "I'm not in the best spot right now but...you did everything you could." She felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned, Arlia was standing over her, a small bunch of dandelions in hand. "Where did you find those?" The Blaziken pointed to a patch near by. The small flowers managed, somehow, to sprout out of the frigid, dead earth. Breccia took them, a faint smile bowing her lips before placing them near the cross. "Thank you..."

They stood there for a half an hour more before the weather turned further. Breccia realized rain wasn't the best for Arlia and finally stood. "Come on." She said. She checked her transceiver, ready to call Riker and let him know they were heading back. "Damn thing's dead...The battery must be going out." As they turned to leave, she spoke: "I'll see if Riker will let me come back every once and a while."

A few steps back, another gust of wind whipped up. It was straight line, as if it could rend the flesh off their bones. Breccia was just about to comment when a loud crack and radiating _boom_ shook the area in waves.

The two of them, startled, rushed back, finding a rotted tree sitting on top of the copter. It fell over the cockpit, crushing and destroying their only way home.

"Son of a bi-" Breccia tried, in vain, to lift it. "Are you kidding me?!" Arlia followed in suit, but realized there was no use. "Now what?" Her exasperation must've jinxed them because as soon as the words flew from her lips, a cloud burst began to pour down over their heads.

Breccia popped her collar.

Arlia wasn't as lucky and had no where to go.

"Here." Breccia offered her coat, realizing her getting wet wasn't as bad as her friend. "I saw a lighthouse when we were touching down, lets try and find it." This didn't answer HOW they were supposed to contact the Organization building. Her transceiver was dead and the radio in the copter was down. (Obviously).

Whatever the case was, she needed to get Arlia inside and dry before it was too late.


	36. Chapter 35

The downpour intensified as they struggled to the lighthouse. Visibility was only a few inches out.

The coat Breccia gave to Arlia was useless at this point and when their destination appeared in the distance, both were soaked.

"I should've expected this." Breccia murmured to herself. She wondered if Riker sent someone in their direction. She was secretly praying she could rely on both he and Morice's paranoia to save them from her bad luck.

"Hang on..." It was obvious the lighthouse hadn't seen use in years. What Breccia found startling, however, was a large, snake-like mass skulking around the entrance.

Arlia was shaking, hugging herself to try and keep body heat. She was about to pull Breccia away when the creature caught onto them and started to slither in their direction.

"Arlia, wait!" Breccia wasn't able to stop her when she charged, full force, ahead. It was obvious the Blaziken didn't care WHAT was in the way. All she cared about was getting inside.

Breccia took off running after her. While it wasn't THAT cold out, all she could think about was that nasty bout of pneumonia she got when first arriving in Birtan. (She didn't want a repeat, that was for sure).

"Stop!" Another voice cut through the rain.

Arlia screeched to a halt, her feet creating heavy skid marks in the mud. When Breccia caught up, she saw the 'distant figure' as an elderly Steelix. While very large, (as to be expected of its kind), the creature had lost most of its shine. It was lethargic in its movements and had two clouded eyes, squinting to see the figures in front of him.

The strange voice that called out to them came from a man standing in a blue rain coat. Breccia couldn't make out his features, due to the hood covering his face.

When he tugged it down, she was able to get a better look.

From where she stood, she surmised he was middle aged, mostly due to the crows feet around his eyes and mouth. His hair was pepper gray and shaggy. He also had a bit of chin stubble that matched in color.

"I'm sorry." He said, shouting over the rain. "He's not trying to pick a fight. He's blind."

Breccia spoke, shivering. "I noticed." She craned her neck to take in the full length of the lighthouse. "Do you live here?"

"Just down below." The man answered. "I sent Rusty out for a walk when it started pouring. Good thing I was out here, he can't fight like he use to." He glanced to Arlia. "C'mon, we better get your friend inside."

The voice inside Breccia's head told her to be wary. Considering her luck, there was no telling what kind of person this man was.

(Then again, a person who was kind enough to love a handicapped creature couldn't possibly be a serial killer...)

Following the stranger inside, the lighthouse seemed like a relic lost in time. There was a spiral stairwell that started at the door. It ran along the wall in a circular fashion, going all the way to a parapet near the top. The walls were covered in mold and moss with cracks traversing through the bricks.

The bottom floor was empty save for ragged, splintered floor boards. There were a few chairs and a table tossed about, all covered in faded yellow sheets. Breccia figured, back in the day, the lighthouse must've been gorgeous.

"I saw your helicopter land a ways off." The man said, hanging his raincoat on a wall nail. "I'll get the fire going in the grate, we need to get her warm."

Breccia had to support Arlia as they were heading down into the basement. The Blaziken was still soaked; both weak and queasy.

Once they reached the lower level, Breccia was surprised to see a quaint apartment. There were two rooms, one serving as the main living area. The walls were faded, with wilted, ripped floral paper. The floors were just as splintered, but covered in a heavy, stained rug. There was a single hanging light at the center, rocking back and forth when a gust of wind blew through the open window.

The kitchen was nothing more than a mini fridge, and the bed nearby was a twin mattress on a sturdy metal frame.

The man went to the fireplace, where a weak flame was lit. Tossing a few logs in, he invited Arlia over.

"Hand me that blanket." He ordered to Breccia, pointing to a quilt tossed on a near by sofa. Instead of handing it over, Breccia put it around Arlia's shoulders, helping her sit in front of the grate.

"Do you have anything warm she can drink?" She asked, not concerned with how rude it may have sounded. (All she could think of was how pissed Riker would be if anything happened to his Pokemon).

"I made some coffee this morning." The stranger said. "I'll heat it up."

Still shaking, Arlia curled up on her side. Breccia rubbed the top of her head. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "If we hadn't come here..."

Pouring the old coffee into a metal kettle, the stranger hung it above the flames. "Speaking of which." He said. "What are the two of you doing here anyway?"

Soaked, Breccia rubbed her hands over the fire. "My father's buried on the island..."

Their host rummaged through his fridge before moving to the dresser beside his bed. "That explains a lot."

"What does?"

Retrieving a shirt from the top drawer, he tossed it in Breccia's direction. "Here, we better get you warmed up too. I'm sure you don't want pneumonia."

"Wouldn't be the first time..." Breccia mumbled, changing her shirt when his back was turned. The shirt was large, almost like a tent, and hung down to her knees. Regardless, it was dry.

"There's been more people coming around." The man continued. He said this while watching Breccia. She was glancing about, looking at all of his hanging photos. "They've stayed away from the lighthouse, but I noticed them looming around the center of the island."

Picking at the matted strands of her hair, Breccia piled and fastened them down a couple bobby pins. "That's probably my brother. He had dad buried here...against his wishes."

Checking the kettle, the host poured a little of the coffee and handed it to Arlia.

Checking her Transceiver, Breccia grumbled before stuffing it back in her pocket. She knew, if she kept it off long enough, it'd get enough juice for her to call. (She was sure Riker was pulling his hair out at this point).

 _Not to mention Morice._

Rubbing her forehead, she felt her heart skip a beat.

 _He's probably terrified._

Coming to a framed certificate above the sofa, the paper was singed around the edges. Despite most of it being burned away, it was still legible.

' _ **Esteemed Grand Champion...'**_

"Grand champion...?" Breccia whispered to herself.

Pouring another cup for his guest, the stranger asked. "Do you mind if I ask your name?"

"Breccia." Breccia accepted the drink, still staring at the certificate.

 _...grand champion._

Reading further to see his name, her heart slammed into her throat when she finally put the pieces together.

"E-" She said out loud. "You're the Grand Champion!?"

Ethan nodded, taking a loud sip from his mug. "I was."

"How..." She paused to collect her thoughts. "Why are...Why are you all the way out here?" Before he could answer, she added. "How long?"

Sitting in a dumpy looking arm chair, Ethan stayed silent, finishing his drink and sitting the cup beside him. "I needed to get away." He smiled. "I figured I'd get some decent alone time here, but you managed to find me."

Breccia frowned. "I didn't mean to invade..."

Arlia, slowly warming up, tried in vain to sip the cup given to her.

"You'd know if I didn't want you here." Ethan said, leaning back in his seat. "I was letting Rusty out to stretch when I heard a commotion. I'm guessing one of those rotted trees finally fell over."

"Yeah." Breccia complained. "On top of our copter." She waved her transceiver around. "I've been trying to contact my boss, but this thing's dead as a stone."

"I'd offer to let you charge it, but my generator's been acting up."

Fatigued, Breccia collapsed on the sofa. She wondered if Riker was on his way to get her. If so, it was best she said nothing about Ethan. Clearly, he wanted to be left alone, and the men she worked with would pester him. (Granted, Riker and Morice would be nice enough to leave the man alone if she asked, but they'd be the only ones.)

Noticing a small frame on a nearby end table, Breccia picked it up. "This you?" She asked, pointing to a little, smiling boy hugging a much younger and lively Rusty. In the photo along side the boy was an older woman with long, sandy hair. A Magnamite was floating by her head.

"That's my boy. One of the only photos I have left. I lost most of them in a fire." Ethan added: "That one's with his mother. I took it when we were on vacation in Hoenn."

"He's adorable...looks just like you." Breccia moved over when Arlia stood from the ground and stumbled beside her.

"He did when he was little. Took more after his mom when he got older."

"She looks familiar..."

"She was a gym leader in Johto."

Hearing this made Breccia remember her father and his love for his gym. "So was daddy..." She corrected. "In Kanto-" Feeling Nibbles' Pokeball jiggle in her pocket, she glanced down when it burst open. She'd been ignoring him all day, (as she refused to give him attention when he threw tantrums), but he finally struggled enough to break free. "Seriously? You couldn't behave for a day?" Instead of flying about the room, Nibs crawled up, and settled on her leg. "You're lucky you're cute." When their host stood to poke the fire, Nibbles hissed. "Stop it." Breccia scolded, picking her Pokemon up and attaching him to her shirt. "You're being a baby."

Ethan adjusted another picture frame on the fireplace mantle. "He seems protective of you."

Breccia chuckled. "He thinks he's vicious." She stroked the top of her Zubat's head. Leaning into the contact, Nibs stayed true to his name and nibbled on the tips of her fingers.

"I'm guessing Pewter city?"

"Hmmmm?"

"You said your father was a gym leader. In Pewter?" Ethan took Breccia's surprise as a 'yes'. "I've seen many Zubats in my day, they usually aren't that docile. You take after your old man in many ways."

Breccia nodded. "He opened a clinic in Lavender after stepping down at the gym. He loved that place..."

 _He loved you too._

A vicious voice in Breccia's head scolded her.

 _No telling what he thought of you when he died._

"I'm sure he had big dreams for me too..." She exhaled. "I was hoping, seeing his grave would help me put things at ease, but it only made it worse..." Since her conversation with Morice, she had been working towards acceptance. She knew her father would always love her, and they had a much closer relationship than her dad and Shale ever did.

She crossed her arms. "Sorry, just...I screwed up a lot of things. I never really had the chance to apologize." She wasn't sure why she was so willing to spill her guts to this stranger. He reminded her of Morice, with how approachable he was. "I'm sure dad hated me before he died..."

Ethan shook his head. "I doubt. With how much he loved Pokemon, I can only imagine the love he had for his children." He continued: "I know it's hard for you to understand, but a real father's love never changes." He pointed to the picture of his wife and son. "My boy..." He paused, contemplating whether he should carry on. "He was a good kid. His mother died when he was a teenager. We were both devastated. He reached out to me to heal and I was too destroyed to help. I failed to comfort him, so he hooked up with a bad crowd. The next thing I know, the police are dropping him off in the middle of night. We started fighting more, one day he and a few buddies broke into some old man's house and...he stayed in the car during, but the courts still nailed him. He was locked up for a few years. I thought, once he got out, he'd come back home and we could try again. Instead, he booked it and I haven't seen him since." Ethan pursed his lips. "I know it didn't help, being the Champion's kid. The wife and I never held that above him, but others did. All the gym leaders in the area, the Professor, they all told me about the potential he had, but all I wanted was for him to find his own niche in life."

Breccia listened to the story, her feelings crushed. "Is that why you came here?"

Ethan waited to answer, staring off for a moment. "More or less...after Lee left, I lost the house in a wild fire. Then, my Typhlosion fell ill and, before I could get help, he passed. After all of that, losing my family and my home, I decided I needed to get away. I stepped down at the league, and left. It took me a bit to settle, but I've been here for a couple years now. I go out to the capital on occasion to get supplies, but it's nice and quiet." He crossed his legs, holding onto his knee. "Regardless, answering your dilemma. No matter what happened, or what you did, I doubt your father loved you any less. I count down the days that Lee's ready to come home. Right now though, he's running. And I can't stop him."

Fiddling with her transceiver, Breccia turned it on, praying it had a little juice. Though it sounded rude, the next sentence she spoke left her lips before she could catch it. "You ran too..."

Instead of being upset, or angry, Ethan shrugged. "True, but I've taken my time here to come to terms with a lot of things. There's nothing wrong with running, you just gotta turn around eventually. Lee will. And so will you."

"I'm not runn-" Breccia was interrupted when her transceiver vibrated. There was a small sliver of battery, about five percent. There were also multiple missed calls: seven. Two from Riker, three from Morice and two from Maddie.

 _Great. Everyone's freaking out._

"Hang on, I gotta call my boss." With how little battery she had left, she figured calling Riker would be best. Leaving the basement and walking up into the lighthouse: she crossed her fingers.

Dialing, she hadn't even put the transceiver to her ear before Riker picked up.

"Hey...yeah I'm fine...no, I'm fine, I promise...Riker, I said I'm fine...the copter lost radio signal...because a tree went down on it, we're kinda stuck here...where am I?" She contemplated what to say. "Yeah Arlia's alright, tired...we're on the south side of the island...at the lighthouse...there's no one here with us, it's abandoned...there's a dock near by...about a mile out, I'll meet the ferry there...I have to go, I barely have any battery left-" As soon as she said it, the call dropped. The transceiver died once more, this time for good. "Damn it."

Going back downstairs, Ethan was offering another cup of coffee to Arlia. "Did you get through?"

"Yeah. I think the rain's stopped." She pointed to the Blaziken. "She and I have to get down to the dock. The ferry is already on it's way. It has been for the last couple hours so they should be here soon." She hoped Riker had the sense to let Morice and Maddie know she was still alive. (Poor Morice was probably petrified). "Thank you for helping us...and being a therapist."

"Don't worry about it." Her host laughed. "Not the first time. I had a friend like you, we had the same conversation. He had a lot of issues with his father... lost contact a while back, I hope he's in a better place." He handed Breccia her coat, having hung it near the fireplace to dry. "Do me a favor, keep my presence here a secret. I don't want too many visitors."

Breccia put Nibs back in his ball and waited for Arlia to get around. Standing near the door, she nodded. "Don't worry about it. If I come back, I'll leave you be. You don't want me poking around too much."

Before she left, Ethan followed with: "I don't mind you. I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character."


	37. Chapter 36

The weekend of the Gala was drawing near and everyone involved were growing antsy.

From Breccia's end, she was confidant that the Lab's invention was ready to go. They had a few small devices that would fit perfectly into the cuff of a suit jacket.

Despite her confidence, she kept stressing over every minor detail. Adding to that was her need to stay in contact with Sanchez's lab.

Being that the Lab in Birtan was smaller and less experienced, Breccia had to deal with the Head Lab Coordinator in Hoenn, who was an ass on the best of days. Every decision she made, every change, was questioned. If it wasn't for the fact that the man was intelligent, Breccia would cut contact and look elsewhere.

When she wasn't working, she was struggling (and failing) to get decent sleep. Her anxiety kept her up at nights, and it was during those long nights she caught herself reflecting on her conversation with Ethan.

 _I'm not running._

 _I'm stuck here._

She'd kept her promise and didn't say a word about his presence, even to Riker.

She hadn't been back to see her father, but once all this nonsense with the Gala was done, she'd make it a weekly occurrence.

"He'll be out in a minute." On the other side of Aurora, Stotler shut the door to Riker's office. The other Executives were waiting in the hall to greet him. "He's on the phone with his secretary." With the Gala growing near, preparations were in order. The Boss had to be relocated (something Sanchez took sole responsibility for), Kelly had to wrap things up with Dixon (who would be meeting them in Travessia when the time came).

"He knew we were on the way, you think he'd be prepared." Sanchez scoffed, turning to leave. "I have more important things to focus on." He continued past the elevator, not caring if the others followed.

"What's crawled up your ass?" Kelly asked, the last one to enter the stairwell. Tossing her ponytail over her shoulder, anyone with eyes could see the faded red stains on the back of her neck. Stotler made mention on the ride to Birtan that she had _just_ dyed her hair weeks prior. Her response was to comment on his receding widows peak.

"I don't see why we had to come out of our way to meet him." Sanchez snapped. "He had no issue coming out to Cerulean last time."

There was audible exhale of annoyance from Kelly. Once they reached the lobby, she sent the guards outside to give them privacy. "Okay old man-" She started. "Ever since you and Riker went to see the Boss last time, you've been at each other's throats." She was getting sick of the tension. (Stotler was too, but he hadn't been as vocal). "We have enough to worry about without you acting like a child. You had no problem when the boy was promoted, what's the issue now?"

Before Sanchez could complain further, Stotler interjected. "You know about the Boss's intentions for him."

"And?" Kelly said. "Don't tell me you two morons are questioning the Boss." There was a second of silence; both men refused to look in her direction.

"I'd never question." Stotler finally said. "I trained the kid myself. He has a good head on his shoulders. It's just...he's raw."

"You're dolling out the compliments." Sanchez stated, receiving another withering glare from Kelly.

"At least he's being honest." She snapped. "You've been pouting like an abused Whismur for days. Are you angry you weren't picked? Is that it?" Not letting her friend answer, she added: "Remember the Goldenrod Radio Tower? That was your handiwork. Nothing Riker has done compares to that level of incompetency."

Hearing his past failures levered above him, Sanchez winced. "I never said I should've been chosen..." He softened, loosening his fists and lowering his shoulders. "You two can look at me however you want. Maybe I am being a bit cross, but you have to understand, I watched everything fall apart...I saw the Boss walk away. I was one of the few trying to hold it all together. We're doing better now than we were back then, but with these new problems..." He heard the faint noise of the elevator cables, signaling it's descent. "The boy isn't ready. He's never had the Boss's backbone and this is the worst time for him to take over."

Not taking sides but trying to keep an even keel, Stotler crossed his arms. "Regardless...It's happening whether you like it or not. You can either help him and support him, or you can leave. Those are your choices."

As the elevator doors opened, Kelly whispered. "You don't have to respect him...but keep your priorities straight. "

Riker stepped out, adjusting the collar of his coat. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't caught the end of the conversation.

Kelly noticed this and veered said conversation elsewhere. "Took you a while pipsqueak. We were nice enough to meet you for a play date, you could've hurried."

Riker rolled his eyes. "Play date. Sure." Despite Kelly and Stotler's attempts to quell things, when Riker walked by Sanchez, both men passed angry glances. "I'm guessing you want to swing by the lab?"

"We'd like to get a better look at this invention of yours." Kelly said. "Dixon wants a better idea of our plans." They left the Organization building and started the slow slog through the snow.

It was obvious, as they walked, that the most recent events had created a great deal of tension. Riker knew the Boss's recent decisions laid a decent amount of stress on them all. Any conversations were stilted and when it came to Sanchez: if looks could kill. (Riker would be full of daggers).

"I don't know about this truce of yours." Riker said, trying to focus on something other than his anxiety. "Dixon's a real piece of work..."

"He's a little goody two shoes, but he'll cooperate." Running so that she was walking alongside him, Kelly said: "We aren't letting him in too deep. He knows just enough to help."

"You're sure?"

Stopping in front of the Lab. He reached up and knocked.

The commotion inside, mostly hushed voices, ceased. A hurried set of footsteps scurried to the door, slipping the chain-lock out of place.

Riker recognized a small portion of Maddie's face through the crack that formed.

"Y-yes sir?" Her eyes widened when seeing the others around him.

"Is Breccia in?"

Maddie's cheeks appeared to flush. "Uh...yeah. Yeah. In the back, but she's not...in the best of moods."

"Long night?"

Opening the rest of the way, the Lab Assistant adjusted her glasses as they slipped down her nose. "She just got off the phone with the, and I quote, 'asshole from Sanchez's Lab.'"

Riker didn't bother to look for Sanchez's reaction. (Everyone knew the Hoenn lab was full of assholes). "Can we come in?"

"Oh, yeah." Maddie seemed far more confused than normal. (As if there was something on her mind beyond work). "Tess and Neil are in the back."

"Tess?" Once the Executives piled through, Riker took note of Tess reading the blueprints at the lab table. Her Magnemite was floating about with Neil's Skarmory in tow. As for Maddie's Electrode, it was fainted in the corner.

Fiddling with her glasses once more, Maddie made an off hand comment about 'cleaning the utility room' and scurried off to do just that. As she did, Stotler watched her leave. He leaned over and whispered in Riker's ear: "She's kinda cute."

Riker clenched his jaw. "Don't even."

"Sir." Neil turned to his boss. "I don't think now is a good tim-" The sentence fell on deaf ears. A loud _slam_ came from the back and an infuriated Breccia stormed in.

Stomping past her assistants, she flipped the middle table with a ravenous fury.

"He calls me stupid!?" She yelled. Her most recent conversation with the head of the Hoenn Lab hadn't gone well. After days of stress, little sleep, and constant nerves, something in her head had finally snapped. "One minor miscalculation makes me an idiot, is that it?!" All it took was the other Lab Coordinator questioning a simple mathematical equation. A sane person would've taken it in stride but she was rampaging like a rabid Ryhorn. "He's the idiot! _I'm just following Sanchez's orders._ Sanchez can suck my ass!" She saw her audience, but it didn't stop her from barreling her way through the other Executives. She bumped shoulder's with Sanchez and stopped, boring her fanatic gaze into him. "What are you looking at old man?!" Still seething, she raged her way into the bathroom.

In her wake, she left an overturned table, several scared assistants and a smothering curtain of silence.

There were papers floating about, some of which were the important blueprints. Maddie picked up the remnants of a coffee mug that was tossed in the fray. "I'll go talk to her. She needs a friend when she's like this..."

More quiet ensued. Riker wasn't quite sure how to respond. He'd seen Breccia angry before, but contrary to his neutral expression, he was a bit terrified.

Kelly snickered. "Sucking ass..."

Sanchez offered no vocal rebuttal. By his expression, Riker expected a lecture.

Instead, the 'old man' exhaled, then nodded.

"I like her."


	38. Chapter 37

"I'm not ready for this..." Breccia complained into her empty bedroom. Finishing with her bags, she turned to the hanging dress in her closet and sighed.

Being she had little money, she was forced to beg Maddie for a gown. Luckily, her lab assistant was happy to comply. This made things a little easier, since the two of them were roughly the same size.

Zipping her bag closed, she let it drop on the floor before sitting on the bed. In the last couple weeks, things had been strenuous. So much so that she made time to go back to her father's grave in order to clear her thoughts.

She had to go by boat, (since the helicopter was out of commission). When she arrived, she asked that the grunts who followed to stay aboard. She feared them bumping into Ethan.

Turns out, she had every right to worry because he was out walking Rusty when she arrived. He seemed glad to see her and invited her back to his place for tea.

She accepted but only stayed for half an hour. In that time, Nibs started to warm up to her new friend and spent less time glued to her shoulder.

"I never did ask-" Their conversation eventually turned to personal matters. "So you work in land? You came in by boat, that must've been quite the journey."

"I..." Breccia formulated a half truth on the fly. "I'm doing research on Pokemon behavior...I've been traveling the islands." She prayed Ethan wouldn't pry further. (Fortunately, he didn't).

They spoke of simplistic things after, the weather, weekend plans and the like.

"They usually don't like the sunlight." Breccia said, continuing a conversation referring to Nibs. "But I egg hatched him, he got use to it young."

When Breccia rose to leave, Ethan turned to a small basket by his chair, retrieving a Pokeball. "That reminds me, before you go...I found this little one when I went out for a walk. I've been trying to care for her but I don't have the tools." Handing it over, Breccia was given a bruised Sunkern with one of the leaves missing atop her tiny head. "I'm not sure how she got here, being that it's too cold for her to survive. I found a bunch of Wingulls poking at her. I've done the best I can, but I can barely feed myself right now."

Now, in the present, Breccia heard a commotion from the living room. Closing her eyes on an exhaled, she yelled from where she stood: "Nibs, you better not be messing with her!" As to be expected, the moment Nibbles saw Breccia coddling another creature, his jealousy knew no bounds. He never had an issue with Koffing, but upon realizing he was no longer the 'baby', all bets were off. "Stop it!" She came in to find Flora on her pillow, letting out a frail cry as Nibs flapped around her. He never hurt her, but that didn't stop him from hissing and sneering whenever he had the chance. "You poor baby." Breccia scooped her Sunkern up, cuddling her close.

After only a couple days of having her, the little sprout on top of her head was starting to grow back.

It wasn't that she minded, as it reminded her of her father's clinic. What she DID mind was the constant heckling from her peers. When she reboarded the ship with Flora in hand, the grunts that followed immediately started pestering her, taunting her constant need to take care of any Pokemon foisted on her.

When she and Ethan were chatting, he told her a few stories of his adventures when he was younger. They were fun to listen to, since they were far better than the mess Breccia was living in. However, it was inevitable that he would bring up his run ins with the very Organization she worked for. It was awkward, having to pretend she knew nothing about the very people she affiliated with. Despite this, when he referred to them as 'morons who know nothing about Pokemon' Breccia couldn't help but nod.

Not all of them were the monsters Ethan accused them of being. (Being that all she could think off was Morice when the topic was brought up.) There were a lot of idiots though. There were days Breccia felt surrounded by them.

"Nibs, you're two seconds away going in your ball."

Nibbles huffed, fluttering down and balancing on her shoulder.

Scratching him under his chin, his owner shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?" He ignored her affection, turning away. "Stop being a jerk." Breccia secured him by the scruff on the back of his neck, guiding him to look at her. "You'll always be my buddy, but she needs a home. You're just going to have to deal with that." When her Pokemon began to sulk, she kissed the top of his head. "Who's my little nibbler?" Nibs answered by shaking his backside and cuddling into the side of her neck.

Checking the time on her Transceiver, Breccia was about to head back into the bedroom when a knock came at the door. "Hang on."

As to be expected from his end, Morice shook his head when his friend greeted him, her Sunkern in one arm and her clingy 'little buddy' crawling around in the pocket of her flannel shirt. "Did I come at a bad time?"

Breccia scoffed. "Please, you should be use to this by now." Going inside to gather her things, she put Flora back on her pillow. "Let me get my bag...I have to talk to Neil before we go, to make sure the Lab is covered..."

Morice hinted at the weariness in her voice. "You alright?"

Turning the lights off as she went, Breccia walked passed him, talking as she headed to the bedroom. "Yeah...just tired. I wish we had another copter laying around." It was going to be a couple hours by boat before she, Morice and Riker would reach land. After, it was another grueling four hours by van.

It didn't help that they had to travel through the Naturra mountains, a range that cut Birtan in half. A part of her wanted to be happy because, once they passed through the peak, they would be in the tropics.

Warmer weather was appetizing.

Then again, a decent nights sleep sounded good too.

"I don't blame you." Morice called from the living area. "I had to see to it the Vans were loaded."

"Vans?"

"I have to ride with a couple of the grunts. We'll be lagging behind once we hit land."

Breccia adjusted her bag strap, pulling her gown from the closet. "Oh, I forgot. I'll be riding with Riker."

She could hear the contempt in her friend's response. "Yeah. Joy."

Wondering around in wait, Morice was busy contemplating the upcoming trip (and dreading it) when he heard Flora cry from where she lay. "Uh...Breccia, your seed pod is crying..."

"Give me a minute, I can't find my shoes."

A minute passed, filled with the shrill, melodious screeching from the abandoned Sunkern. As Breccia traversed the hall, all her things in hand, she took notice of when the noise stopped. "Did she cry herself out?" Contrary to her original thought, she came in to see Morice holding Flora, rocking her as one would a tired child.

It was working, as the Pokemon was silent and starting to doze.

Breccia didn't speak, choosing to lean against the wall and watch without making herself known. It wasn't until Morice put the sleeping Sunkern back on her pillow that she responded: "You're a natural."

He jumped, startled. "Don't do that." He put a hand to his chest, talking down his pulse. "I about pissed myself..."

Breccia smiled. "I've never been able to get her to sleep that quickly. She's taken a shine to you."

Morice rolled his eyes. "Was I supposed to stand around and listen to her scream?"

"No." Pulling Nibs from her pocket, Breccia let him fly across the room. As she expected, he went from her shoulder to Morice's, headbutting him in the side of his cheek. At this point, Morice had grown use to Nibs' brand of affection, so he did nothing. "A lot of Pokemon are good judges of character."

Buttoning the top of his coat, Morice scowled. "You're pleasantries aren't going to work today."

"Long shift last night?"

"No." Morice finally swatted at Nibbles when the bat chomped on his ear. "Ever try to be an alcoholic on a ramen budget? You'd be annoyed too."

Breccia brushed a strand of his hair from his forehead. He was usually good about keeping himself clean cut. As of late though, he'd been looking ragged. Changing the subject, she grinned. "You should really let me cut your hair." She retrieved Nibs from her friend and put him in his ball. "You don't want to get nabbed for dress code again."

"What are you, my mother?" Morice cleared his throat, trying to distract from the blush that appeared when Breccia kissed him on the cheek. "Stop hugging on me, we're gonna be late to the docks."

"Alright Mr. Cranky britches." Shutting and locking the door, Breccia checked to make sure she had all of her Pokemon on her before heading out of the complex.

Out near the Ferry, Riker was overseeing any last minute preparations, all the while coping with Ms. Moore's constant hounding.

"I packed enough food for the next couple of days." She handed him a plastic shopping bag with multiple tuperware containers within. "Make sure Arlia eats hers-"

"Donna, I'm a little busy."

Riker received a glare. "Don't you tell me what to do boy. I've been feeding your happy butt for the last twenty five years and I'll keep doing it." When her nephew tried to step away, she snagged his ear. "I'm asking that friend of yours to let me know if you actually eat."

Riker grumbled. "You are aware she answers to me first right?"

"Aunty giving you grief?" Breccia saw her opportunity upon approaching and took it. "I'd be more than happy to nark if the mood takes me."

Her Boss sighed. "I'd complain about how no one listens, but I'm too damn tired." Cursing to himself, he took the bag and made his way on the boat.

Ms. Moore, whose Meowth was rubbing against her legs, reached down to pet her. "I really shouldn't be giving him grief." She shook her head. "Its dangerous having him off the island. We have more guard but there's always a chance..."

"Are you staying behind?" Breccia asked.

"I'd only get in the way." Donna said. "Besides, he has Arlia, so he should be safe. They've been close as kin since she hatched."

"So I've been told."

Breccia continued to chat with Donna until everything was loaded. Still nervous about the whole situation, she piled on board behind Morice. Instead of staying up top, she went down below to get decent peace. Riker was already below deck, giving orders to a couple of grunts before dismissing them up top.

When he saw her, he said: "Here to spy on me for Donna?"

Breccia chuckled. "I won't if you're good boy and eat your vegetables."

The trip by boat was uneventful, or so Breccia figured. (She slept though most of it.) When they reached the shore, the vans were unloaded and she and Morice went their separate ways.

"We're driving there now...wait at the drop off point, we'll meet you there." Riker and Breccia were both sitting in the back, with Arlia driving upfront. Riker offered to drive at first, but it was obvious he was too tired.

Hanging up, he leaned back in his seat.

Breccia wanted to ask how the conversation went, but the look on his face said it all.

When those Executives showed up at the lab, (and Breccia had calmed from her blow up), the tension between the four of them was palpable. Riker kept trying to comment on their decisions, adding his own opinions on certain points, only to be passed off and shoved aside. It was so bad at one point that even Breccia was starting to get pissed. They were in Riker's lab, acting like nothing he said had any relevance.

"Friend of yours?" Breccia asked, stirring up conversation to fill the silence.

"Kelly." The answer was quick and bitten. "She's so sure about her plans with Dixon..." Closing his eyes, Riker did a count of all they had left to do.

The Boss had been relocated, so that was one thing out of the way.

They were all meeting in Travessia, a city that, not while as big as the capital, was still rather large. The Gala itself was taking place at a mansion on the outskirts, but everyone had to regroup before hand. They were also meeting the police there, something Riker still had qualms with. "No matter what I say, they won't listen. Dixon has given us so much trouble in the past. All the money we've wasted, having to bust our men out of prison...but she gets so sure of herself, she refuses to see past her own genius."

"They all seem to be that way." Breccia said.

Riker was peering out the window, staring past the road at the vast planes of white going in both directions. "Stotler isn't too bad, just too passive. Sanchez...he's known me since I was a kid. I suppose that's how they all still see me..." Quiet for a moment, he listened to the faint static playing on the radio. It was going to be a while before they reached the mountains dividing the region. After that, it'd be another two before they made it to their destination. "Sometimes I wonder if they think I had all this handed to me. Like some twisted form of nepotism." He framed his face in his hands, wondering if his headache was from stress or lack of sleep (or both). "Grandfa-" He cleared his throat. "The Boss refused to promote me until Arlia and I could beat him in a battle..."

Breccia tried to picture a massive Kangaskhan bunting a Torchic around like a deflated soccer ball. "Just a drop in the bucket." She joked.

She heard Arlia scoff from the front seat.

"Only took fifteen years. From the day she hatched..." Riker smirked, remembering the day he waltzed into the kitchen with his stolen egg in hand.

He and Ms. Morre had moved into Johto after his mother's death, and that day in-particular, he was sitting in his room with his newly absconded egg, waiting in anticipation for it to hatch. He heard Donna and a friend of hers (A woman named Marie who would visit for tea on occasion), chattering among themselves:

'Do we punish him?'

He recalled a pause, an obvious sign of conflict, before Donna answered. 'Look, lets just slip it back to the lab before the Professor notices...if he hasn't called the police already.'

As they discussed what to do, they were too late to act on it. Arlia hatched while they bickered. Riker, at only five years old, watched in amazement when the top of the egg popped off and a tiny Torchic head poked through. While he didn't know WHAT Pokemon to expect, he'd seen many of Arlia's kind in the picture books his mother would read to him. Unlike the ones in those stories, her color pallet was reversed with bright orange head plumage and golden body feathers.

When Marie came into the room with the intention of taking the 'egg', Arlia was already shaking away the remnants of her shell. In a moment of stupidity, Marie tried to pick her up, receiving a peck to the hand and a fervor of squawking.

Upon being dropped, Arlia scampered back to Riker and up in his lap, refusing to leave. It was then Donna realized the battle was done.

When his grandfather learned of his ill gotten gains, he was angry with Donna for ever thinking of punishment. He picked Arlia up by one of her claws, looking her over for a moment before tossing her back to Riker like a stuffed animal. 'Let him keep it. It's about time he had one anyway.'

"She can take a hit." Riker said, referring to the Pokemon driving in the front seat.

"Tends to happen when you get your ass kicked from birth." Breccia muttered.

"And all the way through the awkward teenage years." Riker glanced forward, grinning when he saw Arlia peer back at him. "Her's were more awkward than mine." No sooner had he said it, an empty paper cup that'd been sitting in the front seat holder flew back and smacked him in the face.


	39. Chapter 38

Travessia was a city built over hot sands. It was expansive, but unlike the capital (that was to the brim with skyscrapers), Travessia was full of beaches, vacation huts and expensive hotels. It was a tourist's attraction, the perfect place to enjoy Birtan without freezing your ass off.

Staring up at the palm trees, Breccia hopped out of the van after Riker. She didn't notice she was still in her winter coat until the heat bit into her.

"Where's Morice?" She asked, glancing behind their vehicle.

"They're half an hour out. He'll call when they get closer." Riker dozed off on the last half of the drive and was currently rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Dixon should touch down soon. We might as well check into our room."

Walking into the lobby, Breccia had her bags taken by the clerk's Machamp. The hotel was small, reminding her of the one she, Maddie and Neil stayed in at Isadore. However, unlike there, the lobby was covered in large windows and comfortable padded chairs. The carpeted stairs were the same crème color as the floor around them, and the place was crowded with many impatient tourists.

After checking in, Riker tugged on Breccia's coat sleeve, beckoning her to follow. There was no elevator (for some reason) so they and Arlia were forced to walk up three stories before reaching their room.

To Breccia's chagrin, there was only one bed. The room was nice, with a mahogany coffee table, bright yellow curtains and a decent television set. There was a couch as well, but regardless, some unfortunate soul would be sleeping in the bathtub.

Tossing her things on the bed, Breccia let Nibs out to stretch his wings. Luckily for Arlia, who had now collapsed on the couch, he decided to flap about on his own instead of pestering her. After a few minutes of flight, he made his way to the bathroom doorway, hanging on the sill for a snooze.

"Does he have any evidence..." Coming in last, Riker was talking on his Transceiver. "...Well they were bragging about all the men they've arrested...just start breaking legs, one of them'll talk eventually...yeah, whatever...send me a line when you get to town. We've already checked in..."

Breccia peeled her coat off, glad for the warmth."Kelly?"

"Stotler." Riker said, dropping his own bag to the floor. "All this running and we still haven't figured out who's behind this." He opened the sliding glass doors, welcoming the soft, sandy winds to blow in. "Dixon's bound to arrest an idiot willing to spill some details..." His temperament was foul, leaving Breccia alone as he walked out on the balcony.

Breccia herself stayed in for a minute or so, basking in the silence while wondering if it was smart to follow him. Receiving a message from Morice on her Transceiver, he claimed they'd be in the area within the hour. That meant the other Executives would be in soon and they'd all be able to talk about the next day's plans.

This also meant meeting up with Dixon and the other officers. (Something Breccia wasn't comfortable with).

Leaving her things on the bed and her shoes by the door, Breccia ventured out on the balcony in her socks, reminding herself to tread lightly. (There was no telling what mood Riker was in). There was a shade of palm trees around them, masking the glare of the summer sun. Despite this, the boards under her feet were still warm to the touch.

"Riker?" She saw him standing in the left corner, his elbows balanced on the railing and his head in his hands.

"What." The question came out as a bitten statement.

"You alright?"

Her boss scoffed into his palms, sighing and standing upright. (He still maintained his death grip on the railing). "What's it matter? I don't have a choice."

Standing next to him, Breccia tried to lighten the mood. "I think your nap made you cranky."

Closing his eyes, Riker couldn't help but agree with her. His _nap_ wasn't very restful. Truth be told, he hadn't been sleeping well at all as of late.

Every time he fell asleep, he was haunted by the same dreams, as if they were waiting to pounce the moment his eyelids met. They were a jumbled mess most of the time, but no matter how they were, his mother was in every one of them.

The only person who knew about these were Donna.

And he could trust her, it wasn't like she told anyone else...

"Is it the dreams?" Breccia asked.

"Damn it Donna!" Riker groaned and turned away. "When did she tell you?"

"Outside the boat before we left." Breccia answered, clenching her fists at the realization she may have overstepped her boundaries. "She mentioned it...I-I just...I'm sorry..."

Breccia wasn't a gossip, so he didn't have too much to worry about, but still. "If I wanted you to know, I would've told you myself."

Instead of shying away, Breccia wasn't fond of his tone and took offense to it. "You have a lot on your shoulders right now-"

"You have your purpose, and it isn't poking around in my business."

A stillness ensued, as Breccia had no words for what he just said.

 _Purpose._

Something about that word hurt, like an ice pick jammed into her spine. "My purpose?" Despite the bruised feelings, the anger was still there and the next words she said had a deathly cold to them. "So if I were still sweeping the floors, you wouldn't care?" Perhaps it was her own fault, thinking the two of them were on friendly terms. Donna had the best intentions telling her, but perhaps it was best Breccia kept her mouth shut.

She turned to leave, looking inside to see that Arlia was still sleeping. "I'll be in the room if you need me."

Riker called after her. "Don't." When she disobeyed, still obviously sore about his choice of words, his temper slipped further. "I said don't! That's an order!"

Breccia whipped around, flushed in the face and voice raised. "Is it my _purpose_ to stay out here and deal with your temper!?"

"I have the right to be angry when you invade my personal space!"

"I was worried!"

Their escalating quarrel was interrupted by a little old lady on the balcony beside theirs. She smacked her cane on the bars to get their attention She was in a house robe with her pet Fletchling flying around beside her. "Honey." She said, her voice raspy but concerned. "You deserve better than that."

Still fuming, Riker glared at her. "This isn't any of your business."

"With how loud you are, it's everyone's now. Back in my day, a man got a beating for treating his lady that way."

"She's not my-" So not to explode further, he stormed back into the room. Arlia was still fast asleep.(for some reason), but Nibs had moved from the sill to sleeping atop the television.

Sitting on the bed, he did as he had outside and placed his face in his palms, breathing heavy to talk down his temper. He was concerned about them keeping a low profile, and here they were, screaming at each other like a married couple holding onto the last threads of their marriage.

 _You're a stupid child..._

 _All this anger..._

After the flash over that just occurred, Riker wouldn't have been surprised had Breccia stayed on the balcony.

And even though things stayed quiet for a few minutes, she eventually came inside, shutting the door and curtains. This shut out most of the light, shadowing the room and making it hard to see. Letting her eyes adjust, she walked over and sat beside her boss, doing so without a hint of malice or fear.

"You don't listen well." Riker said with weary jest.

Breccia smirked. "I like to live dangerously." She chuckled. "Though according to the lady outside, there's better men for me." Scolding herself for being so flippant with what just happened, her smile faded. "I didn't think about what you're going through. I should've kept my mouth shut."

"That's not an excuse for what I said." Riker rubbed his sweaty hands on his pant legs. "Sanchez said I let my emotions run too wild...last time this happened, I tried to punch his teeth loose."

Before he could continue further, Breccia added: "He deserves it." She was still sore at how little care the other Executives gave to Riker's opinions. Kelly and Stotler seemed to care, but were too easy going. As for Sanchez...lets say she'd love to see him take that punch to the face. "You just needed to get a little anger out."

Riker shook his head. "Not towards you..." He had to come to terms with the truth of it all. Yes, the recent events were making things hard, but the dreams were wearing on him. Not _just_ the dreams either. The ire and thoughts that came with them were making him a basket case. "I see her all the time..." He muttered, staring down at the ground. "Every time I sleep, she's there. And every time I see her, I think of him..." He clenched his jaw, reminding himself to ignore the rage in his gut. "When I was little, we couldn't make ends meet and before she...died, mom reached out to my grandfather. She'd never met him, she wasn't even sure if he'd care, but she was desperate. One night she went out to work and fell asleep behind the wheel." His voice trembled. "She was so beautiful, but to my father, she was just a fling. He never cared, never came around. He didn't want to help with me...if he had, she wouldn't have had to work so hard, she wouldn't have been out that night." There was a relief to the words, being able to say them after years of bundling it up inside. For how long he held onto it, when he finally started to speak, it came out like wine from an uncorked bottle. "...I think the reason my grandfather was so quick to answer...maybe, in his old age, he feels guilty for what he did to my father... then again, maybe he just wanted an heir." His Transceiver chimed, sighing when he saw it was Kelly."I suppose Sanchez is right." Riker said. "I know what's expected of me, and I can't seem to let these emotions go...I get so angry..."

Breccia put a hand on his leg. "Sometimes you have to get angry. But...I guess there's a line. Sometimes people go too far with their hatred for others... or for themselves." When he glanced over to her, she smiled. "You can't change what he did, but you can learn from it." Her own Transceiver rang, this time with a call. Seeing it was Morice, likely saying he too was nearby, she silenced it. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Riker nodded. "I have to be." He added. "You're one hell of a therapist."

Breccia chuckled. "I try on occasion."

"Yeah, well, if you tell anyone about this I'll-"

"Ship me back to Cerulean?"

"I need new material."

No sooner had their conversation ended, the rest of the group merged onto the hotel. Unknowing of where the room was, Morice waited in the lobby until Breccia went down to get him. The other Executives arrived a few minutes later, and all of them were forced to cram their way into the tiny hotel room.

"Dixon will be here tomorrow afternoon." Kelly said. "I figured he and his men would be able to fly here, but they had to make things difficult and go by boat."

Breccia and Morice were sitting on the bed while Riker and the others chatted in the main room. Despite being able to hear bits and pieces of their exchange, the two of them were out of the loop.

"How was the trip?" Breccia asked.

Morice shrugged. "Quiet. You and your boyfriend enjoy yours?"

Rolling her eyes, his friend slugged him in the shoulder. "Stop being a child. If you must know, he slept through most of it."

"How romantic..."

Breccia tugged lightly on his ear. He cringed at this, but didn't pull away. "We're professional, it always has been..." Remembering Riker's little meltdown a mere half an hour prior, Breccia decided that 'purely professional' wasn't the _best_ term. (It was as close to the truth as she could get). "You think I'd break your heart like that?"

Morice just about shoved her off the bed. "You are his 'plus one'. I'm just the muscle."

Doing what Nibs often did when he was in need of attention, she put her chin on his shoulder. "You know, jealousy isn't very attractive." She stuck out her bottom lip. "Here I am just trying to be friendly and you're being a big ol' jerk." When he put an arm around her, she grinned. "Am I forgiven for my indiscretions?"

Morice shook his head. "Like I could actually be mad at you..."

Riker glanced over his shoulder at the two of them, breaking off the hushed conversation between he and the others. "You two." Both of his underlings snapped to attention. "Come here."

As they obeyed, Breccia took note of a final sentence uttered by Stotler. "I think we're attracting too much attention..."

"I'll figure something out." Riker said, turning to Breccia and Morice. "Dixon isn't going to be here until tomorrow evening. Until then, we need to blend in with the crowd. I want you two to go out, pretend to be tourists if you have to."

"Look normal?" Breccia surmised.

"Basically. We'll try and do the same. Leave in the morning, stay out until I summon you."

Morice waited until their backs were turned and scowled. "Great, so much to relaxing until the gala."

Breccia elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't pout. Look at the bright side, maybe this will make up for me _daring_ to step out on you."

"Shut up."


	40. Chapter 39

The next day dawned hot, so much so that Breccia _almost_ complained. Upon waking, she went on the balcony, careful not to rouse the others. Riker went out with the other Executives the night prior, so when the morning came around: she was sleeping on the bed, Morice the couch and Riker on the floor next to the coffee table. Nibs hadn't moved from his little spot on the TV and Breccia let Flora sleep on the pillow next to her.

By ten, all three were awake and Riker, unsurprisingly, didn't stay in for very long. "I'll call you when I'm ready. Try and blend in with the crowd." His next sentence was a lethal warning. "Stay out of trouble."

A part of Breccia wanted to take the day to actually relax, push all her worries off and give her brain a little break.

This would prove to be harder than expected, as Morice was cranky for most of the morning. He was still complaining when they made their way out of the hotel.

"Just as a heads up." He said, waiting until she came out of a coffee shop a few blocks from where they started. "I hate people and my back hurts. Don't expect me to be nice." His determination to stay bitter wilted rather quickly when Breccia handed her coffee to him.

"Here I went, trying to perk you up and you're gonna be mean."

Morice sighed, his disposition melting. "You didn't have to do that."

Breccia pulled out her pocket book, unzipping and counting the coins inside. "That was my last dollar, so enjoy it." She added. "Also, we're supposed to be _normal,_ so look happy."

"No promises."

"And don't steal anything."

"It's one or the other princess, you aren't getting both."

Travessia stemmed off into several streets, but the main attraction was a mile long boardwalk that traveled through the center of the city. There was an over abundance of shops on either side with stalls and canopies set up on the cross walks.

"Now I have a headache." Morice complained, leaving a small shop with Breccia on his tail. "Tell me again why we went in there?"

Breccia moved aside to let another tourist pass. "Because I like candles. And it smells nice."

"It was a friggin hippy shop." Upon noticing other people walking around with their Pokemon, Morice let Pecks out to stretch her wings. "What was the point of going in there if we didn't get anything?"

"It's called window shopping." Breccia stroked the top of Peck's head when the Fearow nudged her. "Mom and I use to do that all the time. We'd go to the mall in Saffron, share a coffee and window shop for hours." Breccia only had few decent memories of her mother, being that her mom was nuts and wasn't in her life for very long. However, she cherished the ones she had. "You're also supposed to enjoy your company and have pleasant conversations. You know, socialize."

Morice finished off the coffee and chucked it into a nearby trash can. "Alright, fine. I'll 'socialize'." Breccia was trying hard to find some enjoyment and it'd be dickish of him to weigh down said enjoyment with his constant complaints. "C'mon, I'll pick the next place."

They went in and out of several shops for an hour or so, from pottery barns to clothing stores. Pecks would occasionally follow them, but took advantage of her freedom by flying around in the skies above.

Feeling her gut grumble, Breccia was waiting out front of a stall, having been separated from Morice due to a large influx of people. She'd check her Transceiver on occasion, receiving the same message of 'no missed calls' before putting it back into her pocket. She thought of letting Nibs out of his ball, however he wasn't the warmest towards people and she didn't want him biting random strangers. "Where'd Morice get off to?" She asked when Pecks fluttered down next to her. "He better not be getting into something, Riker's gonna kick our asses if we cause any problems."

Granted, the last time they were out together, trouble found them...

Breccia couldn't help but wonder if those same people, the ones who attacked them all those months ago, were walking around the boardwalk. If Riker suspected they'd show at the Gala, they were bound to have their own men scoping about. On top of that, that one man, the one in the baseball cap, said they had a group in Travessia...perhaps she should've brought Koffing along as extra protection.

"Where were you?" Breccia scolded, spotting Morice out of the crowd as he hurried to catch up. "I was worried someone carried you off." She noticed her friend chomping on an apple. "Where'd you get that?"

Morice shrugged. "Found it." When she glared at him, he continued. "There's a stall a few feet back. Don't worry, I paid for it." He tossed her an apple as well and waited until she took a bite. "I took a dollar from her tip jar when she wasn't looking."

Breccia thought of chiding him, but a combination of her growling stomach and her friend's shit eating grin prevented her from doing so. Finishing her snack, she was just about to chuck it when a person from the crowd brushed up against her. She gave off an involuntary shriek, jumping like someone stepped on her foot.

"Hey buddy." Morice called to the guy who accidentally scraped into her. "Watch where you're going." He glanced to Breccia. "You alright?"

"Yeah...sorry." Breathing in, she sighed. "I got myself all worked up for nothing, I thought it was one of those creeps."

They continued to stroll along, choosing a side street instead of the main road. "I'm glad I wasn't the only one, I thought I was worried for nothing." Morice pursed his lips. "I don't like all this crap with Dixon, but if I can get a hold of those assholes who hurt Tess, I'll deal with it."

Breccia reached over, taking him by the hand as they walked. "You're a sweatheart." She said, feeling weak in the knees when he tightened his grip.

"Have you heard from Riker?" They'd went through a few more shops on the backstreets, many of them deserted. After, they stopped shy of a beach looking out over the ocean. Instead of venturing deeper, they stayed on the paved sidewalk, leaning against the rail separating the grass from the sands. The sun was bobbing on the horizon, reflecting orange and pink hues across the waters. The clouds above were glowing and the once humid temperature were simmering down.

"Not yet." Breccia pulled the ponytail holder from her hair, shaking her head and letting her brown locks fly. "I wonder what they're up to, the Executives."

"I try not to think about it." Morice said, watching a group of teenagers run about and make noise on the beach. "I'm surprised I was even involved in all this. I'm not worth much of anything, I just stand around and look angry." He heard Breccia sigh. "What?"

Breccia commented, scooting closer so that their shoulders were nearly touching. "I wish you weren't so hard on yourself." She added: "If I said the same things about me, you wouldn't like it."

"Well..." Her friend knew there was no fighting her. "You're actually smart. All I have to look forward to is getting drunk." He felt Breccia lean into him. "I brought it on myself. Nothing good ever happens when the police get involved in things."

"I'm sure everyone feels that way." Breccia said.

Morice shrugged, answering her with a silence. After a couple minutes of watching Windguls pick at the garbage from the nearby overflowing trashcans, he scraped a hand through his hair. "I don't hate them." He admitted. "The police I mean. I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion among my peers but they're just doing their jobs. Some of them really are good people. It's just, this shit with Dixon..." There was a tense air about him, as if he was talking in spite of his discomfort. "I got into some trouble when I was a kid and he testified against me. I ended up in a gang and we did some stupid crap, I turned on my buddies to save my ass and Dixon made it sound like he was gonna support me. Instead he screwed me over and I went away longer than a should've." He crossed his arms. " We work with some sick bastards, but many of us just made bad decisions. Dixon doesn't see it that way. There's no second chances with him."

Breccia put her hand over his as it held the rail. When Morice attempted to pull away, she increased her grip. "This might sound corny but...there's a lot more to you than you give yourself credit for." Maybe it was hypocritical to say, as she thought very little of herself, but she didn't like the idea of Morice being glum.

Hearing this, Morice appeared to be contemplate it. "You're right...that is corny."

Breccia groaned. "I swear, I could punch you." She shoved his shoulder when he turned to her. "There, that's your punishment for being a smart ass."

"Oh no, please stop." Morice said, deadpan. "You've broken my heart."

Breccia, once again, checked her Transceiver. It'd been hours. At this point, she was wondering if Riker would ever call. "I'd say you can punch me back, but I bruise easy."

"I wouldn't forgive myself if I did." Morice said. "Unlike _some,_ I'm nice to the people I care about."

"You care?" Breccia's sarcasm wasn't lost on him. "You're going to make me blush." True to her word, A trail of gooseflesh broke out across her back when Morice reached up, tucking a strand of her sandpaper hair behind her ear. Though the breeze was warm, she found herself shaking.

It didn't help that the next words Morice used had a hint of danger that caused her heart to race. "You know better."

Despite her nerves, Breccia felt her lips curve up into a taunting smile. "Show me."

Perhaps it was the quaking in her stomach, but Breccia had her fingers clenched into Morice's shoulders. She was tugging lightly on his shirt as he leaned in, hoping for better success than their first attempt in Aurora.

Eyes closed, she could feel his warm breath spread across her lips, her own breath hitching in her throat.

One of the teenagers on the beach took notice of the two of them, tossing an empty can, and bouncing it off the rail. The _pop_ that resulted startled Breccia and caused her to jump back.

"Get a room!" The teen's buddies must've thought him to be a genius because they laughed.

(Though, once Morice made it obvious he was coming over the rail, they freaked out and ran like the children they were).

"Damn brats." He snapped. "I'd be angrier if I wasn't the same way at their age."

"Hello?" Breccia, all the while, felt her pocket vibrate and retrieved her Transceiver. "Yeah...okay...give us an hour, we're past the boardwalk.." Riker's tone was terse, it would seem being around the other Executives made him cross. "He sounds pissed, we better get back." Still weak in the knees and flustered, she swallowed, trying to steady her pulse. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."

Putting Pecks back in her ball when she flew back down beside him, Morice exhaled, straightening the fabric out on his shirt from where Breccia dug in. "Yeah."


	41. Chapter 40

It took a little longer to rush back. The boardwalk was mostly empty when heading to the hotel, so there weren't many people to contend with.

As she and Morice hurried along, Nibs busted from his ball after staying silent for most of the evening. Not a fan of the sunlight, even though it was a soft glow instead of a harsh shimmer, he resorted to Breccia's shirt pocket.

"I hope Riker isn't pissed off." Breccia said as the hotel came into view. Still thinking of his cross tone, she feared the other Executives had put him in a foul mood.

(And considering the conversation they had the day before, she wondered if his personal demons were weighing on him).

"Wait!" They heard a hurried voice as they made it to the lobby. When Breccia turned the corner to go in, a blur of red fur ran towards her and smacked into her leg. Plopping down on his bottom, the Growlithe stared up at her, it's tongue hanging out.

As to be expected, Breccia bent over and gave him a scratch between his ears.

"You should probably make sure it isn't rabid." Morice said. "Not every Pokemon wants cuddles."

Going against her friend's complaints, when the Growlithe stood on it's back legs, Breccia reached down and picked him up. "He wouldn't hurt a soul." Breccia smiled when the Pokemon lapped at her face with it's tongue.

Still in her pocket, Nibs saw his trainer snuggling another creature and took it like a slap to the face, growling.

This did nothing to gain Breccia's attention. She was too busy petting her new friend.

"Where's your trainer?" She asked, hearing a small commotion from the lobby as a stranger made his way to her.

"I'm so sorry." He said. "He got away from me." The man, a rather tall, bulky blond, was in a light blue police uniform. "We've been trying to train him for the department, but he doesn't focus." The officer had another Growlithe alongside him, clearly more obedient than the other. When he tried to take the Pokemon from Breccia, it nipped at his fingers, more friendly than vicious. "Come on buddy, the deputy is going to hand me my ass if we don't catch up."

Breccia let the creature go, frowning a tad. "How long have you been training him?"

"Since he hatched. It just doesn't seem to be catching on." The officer sighed. "I'm going to give him a couple weeks. If not, I might just give him to my daughter." Glancing down, his more obedient Pokemon stayed at his side while the other danced about, trying to tackle and play with it's brother. "Maybe this isn't where he's meant to be..."

Riker saw his two underlings chatting with the officer, taking the time to step away from the Executives. As to be expected, he and Sanchez said few words to one another, and the stress of the situation had soured attitudes. He had a headache and was slightly pissed that Breccia and Morice took so long to get back.

"Laurent." Having arrived with a handful of his men, Dixon called out to the officer in the door way. "Step away from the riff raff, we have more important things to attend to."

Shutting the door behind them, it was then that Breccia noticed the lobby was empty. Even the front desk stood bare. She wasn't sure how they managed to scoot everyone along, but aside from the group's chatter, it was quiet and uncomfortable.

The air between the Executives and the police was stiff, as to be expected, and as Breccia approached, she held her breath.

"We were hoping you'd have more information on who is behind all this." Kelly said, speaking to Dixon. "You were bragging about all the men you've arrested. You mean to tell me not a single one let details slip about who's leading them?"

Dixon crossed his arms. "Don't make me laugh. We've arrested a lot of you idiots, and you have yet to tell us anything."

"We aren't the priority." Stotler snapped. "If you haven't made any leeway, then just say so. We're bound to find more at the gala, we can try and get answers then."

While this was the first time Breccia met Dixon, remembering Morice's story soured things for her. Looking at him now, she could feel a change in the wind.

This wasn't a standard "good guy/bad guy" thing. Even if she was on the right side of the law, she was sure to hate him.

"Tell me, this plan you have." Dixon said. "It's been a hassle having to take these men down, with their Pokemon being as strong as they are." He added: "You're silly little experiments are bound to of found something."

Breccia huffed, expelling a hot stream of frustrated breath. "I'd have a bit more respect for something that could save your hide."

Dixon glanced to her, acting as if her statement were a minor inconvenience and nothing more. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Breccia, whose hands were wedged firmly in her pocket, clenched her fists. "I'm in charge of the 'silly little experiments'."

Laurent, who was standing with the other officers, his unruly Growlithe trouncing about, appeared surprised, his eyes widening when he heard the news. "Wait..." He said to Breccia. "You're WITH them?!"

"Silence boy." Dixon snapped, not even bothering to look back at his underling. "Since you're in charge of these 'ideas', tell me what you've discovered."

Breccia almost refused to speak, a quiet voice in her mind telling her not to spill too much. Glancing to Riker, he egged her on with a nod of his head and she relented. "We've discovered a signal tone that deactivates the effects of the microchips. We were able to construct a few small devices, it should make their Pokemon easier to deal with."

The Deputy took this news with a simple swipe of the hand, as if waving her intelligence away. "Well, aren't you a smart little girl." He continued to the Executives. "Are we allowed this technology, or is this something you're going to handle alone?"

"They aren't going to know." Breccia snapped, refusing to let him wander from her. "I already have the device sewn in a few of the suit cuffs. I wouldn't mind outfitting some of your men, as long as they're dressing up for the occasion."

Doing what he did best, Dixon ignored her input, as if her presence was a pain in the back. (One would think, with how important Breccia and the Lab's research was, he'd take what she said a tad more seriously.) "That's nice princess, keep it down, big kids are talking."

Already having issues with her rage, Breccia's anger bubbled over. Her vision blurred and for a second, she feared she'd explode from all she was holding in. It would've been smart for her to walk off and collect her bearings, but she reacted before logic could take over.

Before he could turn away from her, Breccia replaced punching Dixon by spitting in his face instead. He was hit in the eye and, after realizing what happened, lost his cool demeanor and lunged at her.

In the second it took Dixon to react, Breccia was yanked back by Morice and Riker stepped between his subordinate and the Deputy.

"Careful there Dixy." Kelly called, standing next to Sanchez as she spoke. "We don't want any conflict... lest some details slip out..."

Steaming from the audacity of Breccia's 'attack', Dixon took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. "There's laws against attacking an officer missy." He said, bypassing Kelly's snide comment.

Still behind her boss, Breccia was more than willing to continue the fight. "Tell me what I have to lose officer."

"That's enough!" Riker snapped, calling for and receiving silence. Casting a scornful look over his shoulder, his Lab worker felt instant shame at the thought of causing him issues. "We were promised a truce until this issue was resolved. Do you plan on meeting us at the gala or not?"

"Well, we're here aren't we?"

There was a spattering of conversation among them before they broke away. Waiting until Riker was standing by himself, Breccia approached with Morice on her tail. "I don't like this." She said. Casting her vision to Dixon as he spoke to the other officers. "Call me paranoid but I have a bad feeling."

"You aren't the only one." Riker commented, arms crossed. He'd been trying to say so for the past couple weeks, but the other Executives passed him off. At this point, there was no point in saying much else. They wouldn't listen.

Eavesdropping Riker took notice of the exchange between the officers.

"We'll station out front of the mansion." Dixon was going through the plan when Laurent spoke up.

"Shouldn't we have a few around the side, just to be safe-"

"If I wanted your opinion boy, I'd say so." Turning his nose up to the rest, Dixon headed for the door, his men following. "Well, I'd hate to cut things short, but we have preparations to make." Still sore from the spit wad Breccia threw at him, he sent her a withering glance. "The big boys have priorities."

"Be careful deputy." Breccia threw back. "We wouldn't want anything to happen." As she said this, Nibs crawled onto her shoulder, stretching his wings from his nap.

Dixon smirked, pointing to the bat. "What? You going to blow me away with your ace?"

Breccia knew a challenge when she saw one and sighed, wanting nothing more than a hot shower and a nap. She shrugged her shoulder to get Nibbles' attention. "You heard him buddy. Go ahead." She added: "Aim for the street."

Excited, Nibs flew above their heads. (Riker and Morice moved aside in advance.)

Opening his tiny maw, he did what he did best, sending a large, accumulated beam massive enough to knock him back. The lobby doors blew out, casting a car away and bending multiple light polls in the process.

The confidant, smug look on Dixon's face fell instantly and his men jumped back, terrified.

Exhausted, Nibs fell back down, caught by his trainer. After, he yawned, gave her a little head bump to the chin, then crawled back into her pocket.

"Like I said." Breccia commented in the silence that ensued. "Stay careful officer." She grinned. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going for a nap." She walked, solitary, to the steps leading upstairs.

Having stood in silence for the entire interaction, from Dixon arriving to Nibs blasting a hole through the windows, Sanchez watched her go and nodded once more. "I still like her."


	42. Chapter 41

Every few weeks or so, Ethen's rations would slim down and he'd make his way to Isador. Still not adjusted to the harsh winter weather, he hadn't much to wear beyond a thin rain slicker. To combat this, he often wore a thick wool sweater underneath and a scarf around most of his face.

Having a decent size fortune, he'd been living off his storage of cash for the years he'd been in Birtan. However, he was starting to hit rock bottom and knew it was time to pack up and head back to Kanto. (Or Johto if the mood took him).

"C'mon boy." He called to Rusty, who was wandering around behind him. The locals didn't seem to mind his giant Steelix being out of his ball. Whenever he came into town, he let his Pokemon stretch his limbs, giving him a little more room to socialize. Every time they traveled through the island, the owner of the local bakery always gave Rusty a couple poffins while Ethen did his shopping. There were a lot of good people in Birtan. So much so that he was bound to miss them when he went back home.

Walking by a miscellaneous shop on the main drag, Ethen took notice of several Pokemon toys in the window.

Inside, several children were trouncing about. One a little boy snatched a stuffed Magnemite from an employee who had to reach it on the top shelf. Rushing to his parents, the boy tossed the toy up on the counter for purchase.

Ethen watched as they made their purchase, leaving the store with the child skipping happily between his parents, his new item clenched tight in his grasp.

 _Dad, when's mom coming home?_

Turning the band on his ring finger, he blew into his hands to warm them.

 _Dad? Where's mom?_

Coming up behind his trainer, Rusty must've noticed his waning mood because he nudged him lovingly.

"I'm fine." Ethen lied, stoking the top of his Pokemon's head. "Lets head back to the bay, I want to get home before dark." As they continued on their journey, slogging through slushy walkways and fighting bitter winds, Ethen took notice of certain...individuals. Most of the locals were heavily clothed, most of them scurrying from shops to their stone cabins. On occasion, he'd see a person, always male, wearing thin coats and walking with their faces covered and their heads down.

Usually this wouldn't bother him, but there was something about them that unnerved him.

Then again, maybe he was just being anxious.

As of late, that was a constant for him.

Living alone on an island like a crazy hermit wasn't healthy for the mind. And aside from the occasional person poking around, he was on his own. (With Rusty of course).

Granted, there was still that Breccia girl.

He didn't know too much about her, but she was a bright one. Seeing her work with Pokemon, her talent in raising and caring for them, reminded him of his younger years. She was smart. It made him yearned for when he was her age, full of energy and vitality.

People like her had a bright future.

Then again...the same was said about him at one point.

 _And Lee..._

Sighing, his shoulders slouched as the boat came into view.

There wasn't a day Lee didn't come into his mind, even after all these years. He had no hatred for his son, nor did he take offense to the boy needing to take a breather. He missed him though, and he waited with bated breath for the day he came home.

Regardless, Lee would benefit being around someone like Breccia.

Glancing behind his shoulder, he took notice when Rusty stopped. "What's wrong boy?" Instead of acknowledging the question, Rusty turned his blind eyes back from where they came, staring at the toy store. It was then that he noticed those same men, two, skulking around the establishment.

This couldn't be coincidence. Ethen had enough run ins with shady types back in the day to know when something was up.

"Stay here buddy." He saw both men glancing into the windows, much like how he had, but they were huddled together.

(If they were planning to rob the place, they weren't being very conspicuous).

Heading in their direction, they must've noticed because they bolted in opposite paths.

What happened next took Ethen a moment to unpack. He was glancing out at one of the strange men when he was pushed into the snow. What pushed him was an unsheathed explosion, blowing outward from inside the store. The windows shattered and the force threw him from his feet, face planting into the snow and sliding a ways.

On shaking arms, he levered himself up, the profuse ringing in his ear blocking out the screams and flames around him. When his vision and hearing came into focus, he looked back and saw the store engulfed in sulfer and fire. Several cars around were over turned, one flipped on its roof.

A woman stood near one, holding onto her child while trying to navigate her away from the wreckage.

"Mama!" The little girl yelled, her words being the first Ethen could hear when reality came back to him. "Poochey! We have to get Poochey!"

The mother tried to near the vehicle, where a terrified creatures screams could be heard, but it too was catching in flames and was too hot to approach.

Stumbling to his feet, Ethen struggled to walk, ignoring the chaos around him.

The little girl saw him approaching and reached out with a quivering mouth and tears in her eyes. "My Poochey, we can't reach him!"

The eviscerated black vehicle had a maimed, scared Poochyena trapped inside. Ethen could see it through the side windows. The fire took it from the back, engulfing the case and traveling closer to the petrified Pokemon as it squealed and scurried closer to the dash.

Ethen contemplated breaking out the dash, but doing so would cause an updraft. However, the driver's window was down far enough he could wrestle the poor creature out.

Laying on his side, he reached into the car, ignoring the heat as it neared him.

"It's okay..." He tried to reassure the Poochyena to approach. The Pokemon sniffed his fingers, shying away and going towards the fire. "Look at me...I won't hurt you." He could smell the melting plastic of his coat sweater, and the smell of hair burning away on his arm. "Come on..." He stretched as far as he could, and, after a bit more coaxing, was able to grab the scruff on the back of the Poochyena's neck.

The Pokemon tried to nip and struggled against his captor, but was plucked free regardless.

The little girl scooped him up the moment he was free, kissing her Poochey on his forehead. Grateful, she rushed over and gave Ethen a hug. "Thank you!"

Ethen looked past the flames and frantic people, trying to find Rusty.

He hadn't expected his day to be so chaotic. Every trip he took to the mainland was u _sually_ uneventful.

Following the marks in the snow, he ran between two buildings, out into an open back ally area covered in sleet and Ice. "Rusty!" He saw his Steelix, backed into a corner by a couple errand Umbreon, one of which turned when Ethen called out to his Pokemon.

It made an attempt to charge him, but was sideswiped when Rusty whipped its tail around and knocked it into a nearby wall. Despite this, it was barely fazed and landed on its feet as if it hadn't been touched.

Its pulsating, red eyes locked on and for a moment, Ethen felt a shiver at the pure malice they contained. No matter how hard Rusty tried, the other Pokemon weren't affected by his attacks, almost as if he were a mere breeze against a harrowing storm.

Luckily for the two of them, a few of the locals heard the struggle and came running. With the combination of their Pokemon they were able to beat the Umbreon back. One was knocked out cold while the other, upon being over powered, grew spooked and took off running.

The billows of smoke could still be seen, filling the sky above. Even after the flames were put out, the store was nothing more than burned framework. Several injuries later, Ethen waited until the drama died down before approaching the unconscious Umbreon laying limp in the snow.

One of the locals tried to stop him but he ignored them.

Crouching down, he took notice of a small, white chip attached to the back of it's skull.

It came off easy enough, even with a little blood being dislodged with it.

 _Those men..._

Holding it up into the light, he tried to ignore his thoughts.

These poor creatures...he'd wager those strangers had something to do with it.

Rusty, following the sound of his trainer's voice, slithered up behind him as Ethen retrieved the injured Pokemon from the ground. "Lets get this one to the clinic. Maybe we can find the other on our way there."


	43. Chapter 42

Breccia stared into the bathroom mirror, struggling to corral her hair.

She could feel nerves gnawing at her insides.

 _I hope this goes well..._

It felt as if all eyes were on her.

 _If it doesn't..._

Sighing, she dug through her bag for the jewelry Maddie loaned her. Her gown, a very simple black, svelte material, clung too close to her body for comfort.

She supposed she looked good. She never did feel comfortable in frilly things.

"How do I look?" She asked Nibs, who was lounging next to the bathroom sink.

He yawned.

After pulling her hair into a simple, braided bun, she was in the process of collecting her things when she heard a knock at the door.

"Breccia?" Riker could be heard on the other side.

"Hang on." Breccia gave one more nervous exhale.

Poking her head out first, Breccia shuffled back into the main room, chucking her bag near the love seat.

Riker was in the process of adjusting one of his cuffs, having a one sided conversation with Arlia. He turned to speak with his Lab assistant and got a good look at her, stopping cold.

It took Breccia a moment to notice the awkward silence. "What?"

Riker glanced away. "Nothing..." He cleared his throat. "You...look good."

Breccia smiled. "You don't look too bad yourself." Checking the buttons on his sleeve, she could still feel a nervousness chewing her. "We've tested these..." She said, referring to the two small devices hidden in Riker's cuffs. "I don't know why I'm so paranoid."

Trying to assuage her concerns, Riker said: "I think we're all nervous. I wouldn't let it get to you."

"No..." She commented, remembering Dixon and his men would be laying in wait. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

The finite comfort in Riker's tone must've been enough because he took notice of Breccia's shoulders lowering with his next sentence. "We're ready for anything that happens. Trust me, I made sure of it."

After a silent moment of reflection, Breccia was about to ask after Morice when she heard him near the door.

"Sorry." Morice apologized immediately when she let him in. "I was trying to get the van started-" Much like Riker, he saw Breccia and nearly choked on his sentence. "S-starting the van, the tire's still low-"

"What?"

Morice coughed. "Nothing...I'm just use to you wearing-"

"Pajama pants?" Breccia tugged on his ear. "Careful Romeo, you're too suave."

"You look better than me." Morice, unlike Riker, was going more causal. "And I'm not even a good looking body guard either. You save my ass more often than not." Lowering his voice to a whisper when he took notice of his boss a ways off, he murmured. "You talk to Riker about all this Dixon nonsense?"

His friend whispered back. "He's doing everything he can."

Morice didn't say much beyond that. It was another hour or so before they loaded into the van and headed to the outskirts of town.

The skies were a reflection of pastel pinks, melting into a starless black sky when they arrived.

The Gala was in a mansion, far larger than Breccia had ever seen. It had to have been at least three stories. Contrived mostly of bricks, the walkway was winding white marble with large columns to match. The windows were illuminated. The yard was decorated with many topiaries. Some were mundane, but others were in the shapes of miscellaneous Pokemon. Several grass Magikarps were growing in vines around the water fountains and an impressive Snorlax lounged near the flower garden.

"I know you don't like it." Riker was busy arguing with Arlia as they all hopped out. "But we don't have much of a choice." The Blaiziken didn't fight when she was put in her ball. "They won't let us have them inside."

"What? Our Pokemon?" Breccia retrieved her purse. It was the same material and color as her dress and it was empty save for a tube of lipstick. (It looked cute with the ensemble.)

"They take them at the door." Riker grumbled. "Considering what's going on, its a huge inconvenience."

"I'll just put them in my bag-"

"They'll check." Riker said, the three of them struggled to stay together while working their way through the crowed. "They pat everyone down." Instead of continuing towards the door, they verged off to a cluster of bushes where the other Executives congregated. "I thought we were ahead of schedule."

Kelly smirked, ruffling Riker's bangs. "You clean up well."

Breccia could see the agitation in Riker's eyes and was annoyed right along side him. "Is Dixon here?" She asked, changing subject.

Sanchez motioned behind them. "Back there."

The officers, a handful of them and their Growlithe, were huddled together. Obviously, they didn't want to give anything away and forwent their usual police uniforms. From the group, Breccia saw Laurent, who looked back and locked eyes with her.

She noticed, he also looked over to Riker, who broke away and headed to the pack of officers, meeting Laurent half way.

"There's extra security." Dixon was speaking outloud, including his men with the others. "I have more stationed around back." Having not forgotten his spat with Breccia, he threw a snide comment her way. "I suppose you have your little invention ready?"

Breccia noticed the officer's unease when Nibs, who hadn't been put in his ball yet, perked up on her shoulder. "All of our men have them." She was in the process of checking Stotlar and Sanchez's cuff buttons when she was asked. "There should be one in your badge...that is if you're wearing the one I made for you."

Reaching up to give her Pokemon a pat, Breccia felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. There were two ladies, both young and in matching ball gowns. She didn't recognize them but they weren't paying much attention to her.

"Sorry to bother you." One, a red head, said. "But is he yours?" She pointed to Nibbles.

"Uh, yeah." Breccia was caught off guard by the question.

"He's so tiny and cute." The other girl, a blond, cooed. "Can we pet him?"

They clearly wanted to reach out to the Zubat, something Breccia wasn't sure of. "Unless you have food, he isn't fond of strangers-"

They didn't pay her any mind and took turns scratching Nibs under the chin. Instead of hissing, snapping or snarling, he appeared pleased, stretching his little head out to receive pets. The ladies got their fill, gushing about how small he was, before wandering off.

Breccia rolled his eyes. "Thanks for making me look like a liar." She kissed the top of Nib's head. "Are pretty ladies an exception?"

The crew, after more uncomfortable exchanges, started to move towards the entrance. Sanchez, Stotler and Kelly made it in first, with Riker and the other's lagging behind. "Hang on." Breccia stopped her two companions after putting Nibs in his ball. "We can at least try and get our Pokemon in." She reached a hand out. "Give me your balls."

Both men stared.

Riker muttered. "I don't know how I feel about this."

Breccia rolled her eyes. "Your Pokeballs." When they obeyed, she grabbed both, pulled out the front part of her dress and jammed them down into her bra. "There."

"What are you-"

"They won't touch me here. You want your Pokemon or not?"

Some of the police officers went in with Sanchez, Kelly and Stotler. Dixon and a couple others stayed outside, including Laurent, who broke away from the others and kept to himself.

As Breccia, Riker and Morice neared the entrance, as to be expected, one of the bouncers approached them. He was a gangly looking fellow, tall and rail thin. He also appeared rather nervous.

After checking Morice and Riker, he approached her, checked her purse, then, very nervously, tried patting her down.

His hands were on her for about two seconds before Morice, expectantly, stepped on.

"Okay buddy, she doesn't have anything on her, back off."

They entered into the main hall, a room that stretched a great number of feet with a rolling, mauve carpet following. Coned lights were lit on both sides with several locked doors between them. There was another hall that broke off in another direction, leading to the bathrooms. They took the detour, waiting for the others to meet them.

"Here." Breccia reached into her bra, retrieving the Pokeballs. "Be sure to hide them." When the guys seemed hesitant, she pursed her lips. "Seriously?" She wiped them with the skirt of her dress. "There. Stop acting like children."

The other executives found them, with Kelly noticing the exchange. "You got yours in too?" She pulled on bra strap, talking to Breccia. "Which one did you use."

"The right, it's smaller than the left."

Riker held a hand up. "Could we not, please?" For the first time in months, Sanchez agreed with him.

"Changing subject, are we all sticking together?" Stotler asked. "I figured we'd scatter but stay close by."

"Probably best." Riker said. "Try and look normal, keep your Transceivers on you." They all scattered with Breccia and Riker heading to the main ball room. On occasion, as they went, Breccia took notice of an officer or two, hiding in the crowed with a walkie on their belt. A part of her wanted to feel safe knowing they were near by, but it didn't help the anxiety.

"So...when do you think they'll show..." She whispered as they went through the last door into the main area. They music playing was light and whispy, performed by a small five piece band with two violinists and a pianist. It was crowded, and the conversations among the people covered the music.

"They should let us know." Riker commented, putting a hand around her waist and guiding her out of a large group.

Glancing behind her, Breccia realized they'd lost Morice.

 _Stop freaking out_

 _Try and be normal_

"Is there a place to sit-" Her words were ignored when she was led from a group of empty chairs to the jammed dance floor. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping up the facade, put your hands on my shoulders."

Doing as she was told, Breccia broke out in a rash of goosebumps when Riker put his hands on her waist. Her discomfort must've been noticeable because Riker leaned in and whispered: "I won't try anything. I'm just surveying the room." He added: "Look behind me. What do you see?"

Breccia swallowed. "A couple doors, an officer or two."

"Good. That's what I planned."

"Planned?" His underling whispered this, their conversation hushed. From the outside, it looked like a couple sharing an intimate moment. (Hopefully no one would be wiser.)

"That officer, Laurent. He said Dixon seemed against staging any of his men at the side doors." Riker said. "They have a key, if anything happens, everyone should be able to get out." He pulled her closer, causing her nails to bite in further. "Don't be nervous."

"I'm not-"

"You're biting your lip ."

"Sorry." Breccia felt her Pokeball shift, praying Nibs wouldn't bust out. "I need a drink." She glanced behind her, seeing Stotler summon Riker over.

"Don't wander too far." Her superior ordered, letting her go.

When Breccia scurried off the dance floor, trying to move a little feeling back into her legs, she realized the 'needing a drink' was a lie to get a little space.

Nothing against Riker. Being with him wasn't the issue. It was the other dancers on the floor, constantly bumping into her and invading her personal space. (It wasn't helping the anxiety)

Another reason was her seeing Morice, standing off by himself near a group of chairs. He must've gotten behind when they went into the ball room. Regardless, he appeared bored and didn't take notice when she approached him.

"Don't look so excited." She commented, clenching onto her purse. "I saw you all by your lonesome."

"Not much for me to do." Morice smiled. "I didn't want to interrupt your dance party."

Breccia shook her head. "We were just putting on a front. Riker had to pull some strings."

"So it's easier to get out?"

"Just in case." They moved further into a back corner, near another hall way that wound around into a deeper portion of the mansion. "You going to pout in the back for the rest of the night?"

"I'm not pouting." Morice said. "There's not much for me to do, unless one of you dingbats get in trouble." He was lost in his own thoughts when Breccia reached out and took him by the hand, tugging him into the hallway near by. "You wanna tell me what you're doing?"

"We're dancing." The music could still be heard in the pin drop quiet hall. "You little jealous heart..."

"I'm not-"

Before Morice could defend himself, Breccia pressed a slender finger to his lips. "Are you saying you don't want to?" She chuckled at his frustration.

"I never said that."

Lacing her fingers behind his neck, Breccia leaned into her friend, waiting until he wrapped his arms around her. "Good. I was worried you wanted nothing to do with me." She rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed while taking in the steadiness of his breath. The music from the outside was hushed from where they were, but she didn't seem to mind. For the first time since they arrived, her heart rate and her nerves were finally starting to even out.

She could hear his pulse, listening to it more than the music they were swaying to.

"You keep stepping on my foot." Morice complained.

Breccia giggled, her grip moving to her friend's shoulders. Unlike when she was on the dance floor, the closeness was calming. She didn't care that Morice was pulling her further into him, nor did she care when one of his hands moved from her hips, to the small of her back. "Tell me something I haven't heard tonight."

Much like Riker had, Morice whispered close to her ear, this time with actual intention instead of putting on a front. "You're beautiful."

A chill shot along Breccia's spine, worsening when he moved his lips from her ear and to where her neck and jaw bone met.

"You're a jerk." She muttered, clenching into him harder. " Stop leading me on. If you're going to do this, do it right."

"I've been trying." Taking her by the chin, he guided her lips to his. "Now, hold still."


	44. Chapter 43

Breccia heard the explosion. It came from the front of the mansion. A vibration moved under her feet and it took a second for her fogged mind to register what was happening.

Once reality hit her, instead of reacting as the average person would, she gave a frustrated groan.

"They know how to make an entrance." She let Morice go. "Come on, lets get this over with." They went out into the main room, where Riker stood with Stotler. As to be expected, the other guests were caught in a panic. The massive amounts of people scurrying about made it hard for Morice and Breccia to find their way around.

"Hang on." Riker said to them, oddly calm. "Laurent sent me a message. They caught our friends trying to weasel their way in. He said there might be a commotion."

Morice crossed his arms. "Not gonna lie...I was expecting more."

"As was I." Stotler murmured. He said this mostly to himself, but Breccia heard. "I'm going to find Kelly and Sanchez. It's probably best you three stay close. I don't like the sound of this."

It took another ten minutes or so before everyone calmed.

Some guests, rightly, decided to leave. Though there were others, the inebriated ones, decided to hang around.

"Has Dixon contacted you?" Riker asked two undercover officers who approached from the crowd.

"We planned on leaving through the side entrance." One of them answered. "We can follow you out."

Breccia was trailing behind them as they ventured to the back hall.

 _Wasn't worth getting that worked up about._

She said this, scolding her worried mind about its unnecessary paranoia. Now that Dixon and his men had snagged their enemy, it'd be easy to get answers and figure out who was behind this madness.

"I need to use the restroom." She said, calling out to her friends as she messed with her purse strap. "I saw one around the corner."

Before Morice could comment, Riker turned his attention in their direction. "Follow her. I'll catch up in a moment." As they broke away, one of the officers made an attempt to follow. "No need to break your neck. They'll keep each other safe." He waited until his underlings turned the corner.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his Pokeball, giving it a carefree toss. "Now then. I'm guessing Dixon's been in on this the entire time?" He didn't have to send Arlia forth, as she busted out at the first sign of trouble. "What did he promise you? Impunity?"

He reached up and detached a pin hidden under the fold of his collar. "Stotler, are the others with you?"

Stotler's voice could be heard, rather loud for how small the device was. "Kelly and Sanchez are. Laurent is still with a few of his men."

"Looks like Dixon pulled a 180."

"You figured he would."

"...Let Kelly know I'll be having a word with her later." He cleared his throat, directing towards the false policemen. "We can do this one of two ways, either she-" He pointed to Arlia. "Can tare you apart, or we can leave quietly. Regardless, I'm getting fed up with your bullshit." While a part of him wanted the easy way out, (as he was drained from the nights events), the men thought otherwise.

Sending out two of their own Pokemon, one a Grimer and the other a Loudred, Riker took note of the piercing hues in their eyes. "Well, now's as good a time as any." He pressed the button sewed into his shirt cuff.

The Pokemon were about to charge, but sputtered when the audio tone deactivated the control.

"Glad Dixon didn't reveal everything. Just in case he needed to control you morons after the fact." He motioned to Arlia. "Go ahead. Take care of them."

Entering the bathroom, Breccia tossed her bag up on the counter and locked the door behind her.

Truth be told, she didn't NEED to use the restroom, she just needed a moment to breath.

The goal of this trip wasn't to get caught up in emotions, but she still let herself get carried away.

 _Idiot._

She could feel his lips touch hers.

The moment they did she kicked herself.

What if something had happened, something in need of her expertise? She was too busy screwing around in the back to help.

 _Still..._

Her knees were weak, the feeling in her legs gone. Despite all this, however, she was angry at herself.

"I need a drink." She murmured, adjusting her lipstick in the flickering sepia tone of the bathroom light.

It didn't occur to her that something was wrong until the lights cut out completely, leaving the mansion in darkness.

"Morice?" She called, fumbling to find her way about.

"Can you find the lock?" Morice called from the other side, trying to turn the knob.

"Let me try."

Breccia felt around on the counter top for her bag before trying, in the pitch black, to find the door.

She opened her mouth to speak when a hand covered it, jerking at her violently. In the sudden shock, it took a moment for her mind to register what was happening. Whoever it was was strong and her mindless struggling proved fruitless. Biting down on her assailants thumb, they whipped their hand back long enough for her to scream.

"Breccia?!" As to be expected, Morice heard the commotion and tried to, unsuccessfully, force the door open.

Kicking, flailing and screaming, Breccia was forced through the back into another hall. She clawed and scratched, biting her attacker with every attempt he made to silence her.

Finally, she thrashed about enough that she was dropped to the ground, the carpet scuffing her knees.

She left her empty purse where it lay and bolted, still scurrying in the dark, only able to see by small squares of moonlight cast through the tiny windows.

She could hear the labored breath of her pursuer. He was catching up, his feet beating the panels and echoing behind her.

She reached the stairwell, not realizing until her foot hit the bottom stair and she tumbled, smacking her shin. This didn't stop her, and she scrambled frantically, on all fours, up to the next floor.

Having heard the commotion, Nibs busted free from his ball, taking in the scene of his trainer fleeing with an unknown aggressor hot on her trail.

The dark wasn't an issue for him. He let off a powerful blast, soaring it over Breccia's head and nailing the attacker square in the stomach. He flew off the stairs and landed, ass first on the ground, out cold.

The lights up ahead flickered before turning to a dim, bathing the hall in a musty, orange glow.

Breccia took the moment to pause, glancing down at the man unconscious at her feet. "Thanks buddy." She said, catching her Zubat as he collapsed. "Looks like they're more of those creeps around here than we thought."

Attaching her Pokemon to her shoulder, she stepped over the body, trying to head back the way she came.

Shin still throbbing, she debated whether she should bother retrieving her purse when the beams above her head began to crack and give way. She jumped when a good portion of the upstairs collapsed, debris flying and blocking her path.

Examining the beams, and the massive hole they opened, there were obvious evidence of tampering.

Breccia waved her hand, trying to clear the dust from her vision.

"And here I thought it was going to be too easy." Her way back sufficiently blocked, she sighed. "Destruction and mayhem...average Tuesday." Trudging along the stair well, she gave Nibs a pat when he chomped on her earlobe. "I hope this circles back around, there's no going back that way."


	45. Chapter 44

Riker let the men run off after the defeat of their Pokemon. Patting Arlia on the shoulder, he sighed. "I was hoping for more of a fight..."

He waited another few minutes, after the lights cut back on, before Morice came running back, looking disheveled and worried.

"Where's Breccia?" Riker asked, sensing the tension like a second skin.

"I'm pretty sure those assholes got her." Morice said, heaving for a breath. "I heard her screaming from the bathroom-"

"And you didn't bust the door down?!" Riker snapped.

"You say that like I didn't try _sire._ "

Riker could have easily popped Morice in the mouth for his insubordination but was too concerned with the task at hand.

Both men ran to the bathroom. The door had an obvious crevasse from where Morice tried to pry it from the hinge.

"Arlia."

Arlia didn't need the order, in one kick she tore the wood away.

There was obvious signs of a struggle, Breccia's lipstick rolled off into the sink and one of her shoes was kicked under a stall. Going through the back door, Morice walked a few feet before noticing her purse on the floor.

Both men saw the rubble a ways off, blocking their path. Arlia made an attempt to move it but was unsuccessful.

"The mansion wraps around." Riker motioned to Arlia. " Stay here and try to move the debris, in case Breccia circles back. There's probably more of those bastards running around, she isn't safe."

"This is ridiculous." Breccia complained. "All these doors and not a single one unlocked." There were plenty of windows, but she wasn't about to jump out of the second story and risk breaking a leg. Any doors she came across were sealed tight.

Still tired, Nibs was snoozing away on her shoulder, his tiny wings laying limp and his little snores echoing into Breccia's ear.

"When all of this is done-" Breccia complained. "I'm getting hammered. I deserve it." Walking around with only one shoe, she decided to drop the other one. (There was no point in keeping it).

Walking still, her barefeet cooled by the wood paneling, Breccia was deciding on what kind of liquor she prefered when she noticed two officers down the hall.

"Thank Arceus." She whispered, flagging the men down. "Have either of you seen Morice or Riker? The ceiling caved downstairs and I haven't been able to find them."

The officers, two men in matching pastel blue uniforms, approached her. One was built muscular with buzzed blond hair. The other was a bit smaller, still lean, with shaggy brown locks that swooped down to his ears.

"Don't worry ma'am." The Brunette said. "Dixon told us to keep an eye out for you." Instead of helping her or answering her questions, he ordered his blond friend to grab her.

"What are you-" The shorter of the two put a hand over her mouth as she fought and struggled with her captors.

"There's no point in screaming this time." He snickered. "We'll have our way by the time your little friends get to you."

Breccia didn't need to ask what was going on, she put it together instantly.

"I should've figured Dixon would pull this crap." She said. "Lemme guess, you take care of us and he'll turn the other cheek to your bullshit?"

"That among other things." Her persecutor stroked the back of his knuckles against Breccia's cheek, sinking lower to the base of her neck. "He told us to take out your two boyfriends...and do whatever we want with you." He tugged at one of the straps on her ball gown. "Now, if your anything like that cute little technician, you won't put up much of a fight."

The sentence hit Breccia like a Butterfree striking the windshield of an oncoming truck.

 _Tess..._

"You wish." Breccia snapped, kicking her leg and nailing him in the groin. She then kicked back and did the same to the man behind her.

Despite the pain, he didnt let go. Nibs, who was on her shoulder, bit down on the brunettes ear, receiving a sharp backhand into a wall.

Still weak from his explosive display earlier, Nibs fluttered to the ground, frail and still.

"Stupid bitch!"

Breccia received the same treatment and was hit hard across the face. Before she could register the pain, a fist cracked into her nose, producing an instant stream of blood.

Two more strikes blackened one of her eyes.

Trying to fathom what just happened, Breccia was grabbed by the chin. Pulled closer, she could smell her attacker's rancid breath. "I was going to leave you alive for your boyfriends to find." He sneered, his nails leaving indents in her skin. "They'll be lucky if they find you in one piece!"

Breccia wasn't done fighting, stomping down on her holder's foot. Ironically, that was enough to free her. The brunette tried to swing at her once more and she ducked. He knocked his buddy out cold instead.

Breccia lunged at the man in front of her, jumping and getting him down on the ground before taring at his face with her nails. She grabbed him by the side of the head and started smashing it into the floor. He flung his fist around and, once again, nailed her cheek, sending her senses into a spiral.

That split second of confusion was all it took for him to force her back onto the carpet, wrapping his large, veined hands around her throat. Straddled over her, he pressed his thumbs into the front of her neck, throttling the breath from her.

Breccia kicked and flailed, still clawing and punching. No matter how much she fought, her assailant was steadfast, squeezing tighter and tighter as her world began to fade.

A ways off, Nibs came to. He could sense the drama, but was too weak to move. He was helpless as he lay there, listening to his trainer as the very breath was squeezed from her.

Breccia tried to take a few gasping inhales, her limbs growing weak and her vision going white as everything around her began to spin. Falling limp, her mind made peace with the end.

 _I'm sorry dad._

 _I never made it up to you._

She thought of what Morice and Riker would think, when they found what was left of her.

 _Take care of Nibs for me._

Just before she lost consciousness, everything going black, a blast blew the assailant away. It missed her but sent her attacker flying back, leaving him in a heap of limbs.

Finally able to breath, Breccia took in a deep gasp. Rolling over and placing her forehead to the ground, she coughed, trying not to vomit.

She wiped the tacky blood from her mouth, her nose throbbing and her left eye swollen shut. Her arms and legs were still weak, making it hard for her to move.

 _I'm alive...it's okay..._

 _Nibs..._

"Nibs!" She noticed the lack of bat on her shoulder and desperately searched for him.

Glancing up from her place, she expected to see a small, green, winged creature passed out near by. Upon looking however, instead of seeing her tiny Zubat, there was a much larger Golbat standing in his place.

Thinking she was knocked crazy, Breccia rubbed her eyes before looking again. "Nibs?" She stumbled to her feet and went to him. Though he was still small for his breed, he was larger than he use to be. When she called his name, he flapped his wings in excitement, waddling over to her. "You..." She collapsed to her knees in front of him. "You're...you're so big." She reached out and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you."

Nibs licked her with his massive tongue, running it along her face and leaving a line of slobber.

"Breccia?!" Breccia didn't hear Riker and Morice coming behind her until they called her name. Glancing back, they were running up the hall at her.

Seeing the bodies, it didn't take long for the men to realize what happened. (Nor did it take long to realize when they got a look at Breccia's beaten, swollen face.)

Riker picked her up off the ground, a bit rough as he snagged her by the arm. He didn't pay attention to the chaos around her, wiping some of the leftover blood from her chin. "What happened?" He demanded.

"I'm fine-"

"What happened?!"

"Riker, I'm fine. They got a few punches in but Nibs took care of them."

Morice didn't care that their superior was in the way, the moment he saw Breccia's state, he shoved Riker to the side.

Breccia could see the fear in his eyes and tried to be reassuring for his sake. "I'm okay." She said, welcoming when Morice stroked her cheek. "I promise."

Glancing over, Morice got a good look of Nibs. "Geez, someone's been eating his protein."

"He saved me." Breccia mumbled, sudden fatigue and weariness overtaking her. She leaned against her friend, balancing her forehead on his shoulder.

A ways off, one of her attackers grumbled, rolling in his unconscious state.

"Dixon had his hands in things." Riker said, situating the small mic on his collar. "I haven't been able to find any real officers in the mansion. If I wagered a guess, he pulled them from the building and sent his phony ones in."

Remembering what had been said to her, Breccia swallowed a painful gulp, nausea looming. "Dixon told them to kill you...and do what they want with me." A realization came through the fog of her sickness. Looking at Morice, she added: "They hurt Tess. Both of them."

One of her attackers came to, crawling in an attempt to flee when Morice grabbed him by the collar and smashed his face into the nearby wall.

Riker didn't bother stopping him and instead turned his attention to his other subordinate. "I'm sorry. I thought the two of you would be safe. Stotlar and I had everything planned. Laurence was supposed to keep an eye on the back." There was some obvious guilt on his end. It was his job to keep them both safe. "Did they do...anything else?"

Breccia shook her head. "No, but they tried." As she said this, Nibs waddled up behind her, wrapping one of his wings around her legs. "The way back is blocked. Unless you want to jump out a window."

"Arlia was moving the debris when we left her. Things should be cleared." Riker folded his arms. "I'll be having a word with Kelly once this mess is through."

"And you don't think Sanchez will mind?"

"I'd love to see him try and stop me."

After laying waste to the two degenerates, now bloody and beaten on the floor, Morice left them where they lay and made his way over. "Taken care of." He didn't bother going back, stomping off with bloodied knuckles.

Riker adjusted his tie. "Remind me to promote him."


	46. Chapter 45

"Give me another five minutes." Riker said to Stotler as the three wondered the halls back the way they came. "Where is Arlia?" He mumbled this to himself.

Flying above, Nibs was a little bit ahead with Pecks near by.

"This is a big mess." Breccia said out loud, nursing the swelling in her bottom lip. Her entire face was throbbing. It was a hassle just to swallow.

Riker must've noticed her struggling, because he put an arm around her shoulders to help prop her up when she stumbled.

Truth be told, Breccia was miserable. The bottoms of her feet were raw and she had this constant, looming fear that they weren't going to make it out of this situation alive.

"Arlia!" Riker called for his Pokemon, growing worried when she hadn't appeared. Having to deal with all that happened to Breccia, Arlia vanishing only further added to his self loathing.

 _I shouldn't have left her alone._

He stopped, taking notice of the Blaziken standing towards the end of the hall. "Arlia!" Before he could go to her though, Breccia grabbed his arm and held him back.

There was a stillness to Arlia's posture, she didn't respond when her trainer called out. She stood there, stationary and cold.

"Riker wait." Breccia begged. "Something's wrong."

Clearly scattered and confused, Arlia took a couple steps in their direction before focusing her on them. Her eyes were hued red, almost dripping like blood.

Backpedaling, Riker pushed Breccia in the direction they came. "Run."All three of them took off as Arlia charged in their direction.

She caught up quickly, one swipe of her arm knocking Pecks out when she attempted to protect the others. Jumping, she was in the air when Nibs charged, smashing his head into her. This received little response.

Arlia tossed him away with a ignition of flames, not only burning Nibs but lighting a nearby window of curtains. They must've been combustible because the flames spread up onto the ceiling, inflaming a hanging chandelier and traveling down to the red carpet.

The three were trapped between fast spreading flames and an enraged, rampaging Pokemon.

With a swift punch, Arlia aimed her power towards Riker. Morice shoved him out of the way, taking the full brunt of the blow to the stomach. The Blaziken then went to swing her arm down upon his head. Breccia, without thinking, grabbed a hold of her arm, clinging tight in an attempt to divert her.

Arlia's response was to secure her fist around Breccia's throat. She picked her up, then slammed her into the ground like a toddler to a rag doll.

The moment Breccia touched the sweltering carpet, her world swirled white. She heard an uncomfortable _crack_ from her rib cage, the pain numbed as she went into shock.

"Arlia!" Riker called out to her, trying to pull her attention to him as Morice picked Breccia off the floor.

Turning to the device sewn into his cuff, he pressed it.

No response.

He pressed it again. Receiving the same answer. "It isn't working!"

Outside, the other Executives, along with the officers, took notice of the smoke radiating from the backside of the mansion.

"Call the fire department." Laurent said, ordering to another officer. "This place is old, it won't take long for it to go up in flames."

"Where's Riker?" Kelly asked.

"Hang on." Stotler called into the mic clipped to his collar. "Riker, are you near by?" He heard a breaking of static and muffled voices, but nothing more. "Riker?" There was, what he assumed to be, a frightened scream from Breccia. "They're still inside."

The flames were spreading up into the floor and ceiling boards, crackling the wood and shattering the windows.

A single flaming beam broke free, tossing one of the chandelier's to a shattering end. The beam swung, slamming into Morice, who was still trying to recover from his most recent beating. It hit his shoulder, slashing a severe, long burn across his upper arm.

Her vision blurring, Breccia tried to take in air and wheezed, the soot and smoke making it impossible to breath. When Arlia turned in Riker's direction, Breccia took notice of a chip, lodged at the base of her skull.

"Riker, Morice, keep her attention!"

As Arlia cornered Riker, she throttled him about the throat, smashing him into the nearby wall and picking him off the ground.

"Arlia..." Riker choked, gagging and desperately trying to free himself as she gripped tighter.

The Pokemon bore her glowing, pungent eyes down upon him, squeezing as if she wanted nothing more than to see her trainer parish.

Breccia attempted to jump on Arlia's back, grabbing at the microchip. This proved fruitless, as she was tossed off, thrown aside like a stiff piece of paper in a rabid storm.

"Listen to me." Riker said. He figured, at this point, they hadn't much to lose. If his Pokemon didn't kill them, the spreading flames would instead. "You have to fight it..." He gasped, thinking of something to bring her mind back to the present. He was a dead man if he couldn't reach her. They all were. "R-Remember when we were kids, we broke into the mart and flooded the bathrooms."

Breccia watched as Arlia flinched, the light in her pupils flickering as sanity came back to her.

Riker continued. "We locked ourselves in my room when Donna found out. Then we crawled out the window, I fell two stories and twisted my leg." This was only temporary, but it bought enough time for Breccia to make another attempt. She struggled up and managed to tare the chip free, falling back first onto the floor.

With the device dislodged, Arlia came back to her senses. It took a second to realize what was going on before she let Riker go.

"We have to get out of here." Morice said, putting Pecks back in her ball. "The flames are spreading too fast."

"There should be a stairwell further down the hall." Riker gave Arlia a pat on the back. "Are you alright?" The Pokemon nodded, rubbing her temples. "I'd have a headache too. C'mon, we'll chat later."

Fleeing to freedom, the group was followed by the fire, almost as if it were a villain, constantly on their tail without any want to relent.

There was another stair well, but when they reached it, it too was engulfed. In front and behind, the flames surrounded them, leaving no where to turn.

"We have to jump." Morice exclaimed, glancing towards the windows that lined the hall.

"We can't break a window, it'll cause a flashover-" Breccia's argument was interrupted.

"There isn't much of a choice Breccia." Morice wrapped an arm around her waist. "I've got you, follow me."

Arlia did the honors and shattered a nearby sill. As to be expected, there was an updraft and the heat swelled upon them quickly.

Morice dove out the two story window first, aiming for shrubbery down below. The last thing Breccia remembered was the rush of the fresh open air on her face. The ground came in an instant and brought darkness.


	47. Chapter 46

When she came to, the first thing Breccia noticed was a sharp, piercing light.

"Her pupils aren't dilated." She heard a male voice and someone pulling down on her lower eye lid. She went to take a breath in and noticed a mask pumping fresh oxygen into her lungs.

"M-Morice." She had the sense knocked out of her, all Breccia could do was call out to a familiar friend.

"It's alright." He answered, letting her rest in his lap as he held the mask to her face. "I'm right here." He chuckled, his voice relieved. "You were out cold when we hit the ground."

Relishing the fresh air, Breccia enjoyed taking a breath in without soot or tar following. Reaching her arm out, she panicked when she noticed her Pokemon wasn't near by.

"Where's Nibs!?" She tried to sit up but was held down.

"He's over there, it's fine." The yard was peppered with people, some safe and others burned and injured. There were multiple ambulances and a few firetrucks fighting tirelessly to put out the flames. The mansion was still smoldering with some of the attendees and their Pokemon also helping to put out the fire.

Amid the chaos, Nibs was with the two young women from earlier, soaking in their attention and affection.

"You dragged her out of that burning building all by yourself?" The redhead asked.

Nibs nodded.

The blond hugged him. "You're so brave."

Breccia rolled her eyes. "Attention from the ladies...reminds me of dad." Leaning her head into Morice's shoulder, she felt his thumb stroke over her cheek and took the motion as a means to calm herself.

She was sore all over. Not only from her run in with the crooked cops but from Arlia's beating as well.

 _Thank Arceus Riker stopped her._

 _...Riker..._

"Riker!" Breccia glanced behind them. "Here is he?!"

Morice had to, once again, stop her from leaping up. "He jumped out after us...you were my top concern when we hit the ground, I wasn't paying attention."

Scanning the crowed, Breccia felt a fear scratching at her throat when she couldn't find her boss.

After looking for a few minutes, she took notice of Kelly standing with the other Executives.

"Have you seen Riker?" She asked Breccia and Morice when she noticed them off on their lonesome. "Stotler and Sanchez tried to go in..." She was biting her thumb nail, nervous. "The Boss is going to string us up if anything happens to him..."

"Kelly!" All three turned when they heard Sanchez call out to them. Supporting Stotler, who was covered in soot and coughing haggardly, they both came out of the building empty handed. "We couldn't find him-"

"You idiots! The Boss is going to skin us alive!" Ready to charge in herself, she was stopped when they saw Arlia stumble from the bushes, a passed out Riker in her arms. Clearly panicked, the Blaziken put him on the ground, frantic when motioning for someone to help. Kelly crouched next to her colleague, trying to shake him awake before noticing that his chest wasn't rising. "...He isn't breathing..." She said it again, sending Sanchez to retrieve an EMT. "He isn't breathing!"

 _He can't breath..._

Breccia heard the words, pounding at the back of her thoughts.

 _He never could breath..._

 _Dad..._

"Somebody help!" Kelly was shoved to the side when Breccia broke free from Morice's hold, crawling to Riker. Though she was still brittle from the smoke and flames, she took in a loud, exasperating gasp before clasping her mouth over Riker's and expelling the air into his lungs.

His chest rose with the forced breath, falling still without answer.

Repeating the action a second time, the same response was given. No movement was seen.

"Damn it..." Breccia cursed, her face tinging a faint blue. "Come on you stupid idiot!" Frustrated she managed one final exhale.

With a sharp gasp, Riker coughed violently, his eyes opening as he greeted the spinning world with desperate breaths. Having been turned on his side, he didn't fight when the EMT's arrived, securing a mask onto his face as well.

"Stupid idiot?" He asked, looking directly at Breccia, who had also collapsed. Taking in the fresh, clean oxygen, he tried to pick himself up on shaking limbs. "That'll be a write up, just so you know."

* * *

They were some of the first to the hospital. Breccia figured some strings were pulled because the three of them had a room to themselves while the rest of the masses were all lined up in the lobby.

The doctors and nurses were running about, as if this was the busiest they'd been in ages. You could barely hear yourself think over the thundering cacophony of voices and noise.

"It's ridiculous out there." Morice complained, shutting the door, and the commotion, from their attention. Breccia was in the process of receiving treatment of her own wounds. At this point, the swelling had set in, both of her eyes were blackened with one of them completely shut. A thick pad of gauze was pushed into her left nostril. She was sore all over from Arlia's manhandling and the plastic clasps on her ball gown had been welded together from the flames and heat. "How are you feeling?"

Breccia shrugged, shivering and miserable. "Alive."

Morice had already gotten proper help, his own bruises tended and the massive, welted burn on his arm cleaned and bandaged.

Riker had been taken from the room shortly after they arrived, still having difficulty breathing on his own. Breccia couldn't help but feel the fear, concerned his injuries were far worse than met the eye.

"Here." Morice put his jacket around her shoulders when he noticed the goosebumps running rampant across her arms. Then, as if he could read her mind, he added: "He'll be fine, he just needs a little extra fresh air."

They were alone in the room for half an hour or so before Riker finally came in, looking haggard and exhausted. He had his suit jacket tossed over his shoulder, his white undershirt now a faded gray.

Upon seeing him, Breccia rushed over and embraced him, as if he were the only thing to smolder her anxiousness. His response was to give a quick, two second arm around her shoulder. "Have the others come through yet?"

Morice answered: "Just the nurse."

Kelly and Sanchez did arrived soon enough; Laurent and two of his other cop buddies were in tow.

"I suppose this mess is all over the evening news?" Riker asked her directly.

"More or less." Picking up the remote to the near by television, Kelly added: "Two of my men just contacted me, seems there was another incident in your area." Switching to one of many news stations, there was coverage of the attack on Isador. The small port town was in shambles with some of their buildings destroyed and the people struggling to pick up the pieces.

Upon seeing this, Breccia remembered Ethan saying how he often went to the village for supplies. She hoped he was safe.

"What the hell..." Riker murmured under his breath. "I better contact base, make sure this didn't bleed over to Aurora."

"I think-" Kelly opened her mouth to speak further but was silenced.

"I don't care what you think." Riker snapped. "Your ego got us into this mess. I told you Dixon couldn't be trusted but you wouldn't hear it."

"Now wait a minute." Laurent said, one of the few that managed to get out of the catastrophe without a scratch on him. "I don't want to believe he'd be willing to throw his own men to the wolves like that-"

Riker pointed to Breccia. "Take a good look at her. Dixon let those nut jobs in and that's what happened." Angered that Laurent would look against the evidence at hand, he continued: "You said so yourself Dixon was acting strange. He was so desperate to get to us he put everyone in danger, including my men were among them." He turned to the other Executives. "Where's Stotler?"

Kelly practically whispered. "They're working on him...he was having trouble breathing when we arrived."

"If it helps-" Laurent said, bringing the conversation back around. "I believe you...I'm just having a hard time convincing the others. Dixon was with us for years, it's hard to think he'd tarnish that for petty revenge."

"Well he did." Riker said, cooling his blood to something more suitable and stable. If he was going to take charge of the situation, he had to keep a level head. "Any idea where he got off to?"

"I'm afraid he's disappeared. Once the mansion caught fire none of us could find him."

"Did you catch any of the other men responsible?"

"We found them in a pretty beaten state, but yes. We'll question them as soon as we can."

"Be sure you do. I want to know who their leader is and why he's targeting us."

Laurent crossed his arms. "I'm not sure we can go sharing that kind of information."

"Whether you like it or not." Riker's temper started to flare again. He exhaled, sharp and steady, keeping his voice at a level monotone. "We're in this together. If you want to find them, you need us. We won't make any brash actions, we can't afford it." In his mind, he had a lot to rage over. Breccia getting the piss beaten out of her, what happened to Arlia. Saying the night was a mess was too nice a way to put it. Even 'disaster' didn't settle things.

Riker directed his voice to Breccia. "Did you keep that chip, the one you pulled off of Arlia?"

Breccia shook her head, careful in how she worded things. (Riker was in no mood for bad news.) "Afraid not...I'm still trying to figure out how they managed to jump her."

"You and me both." Morice intervened. "But she fought it."

Breccia crossed her arms. "You're right... of all the experiments we did in the Lab, that never happened. When you were talking to her, she fought back." It was only then that Breccia noticed Arlia wasn't around. "With all the research. The cuffs worked for the most part."

"Except for Arlia."

"That might have been the inhalation." Breccia put her head in her hands, giving a frustrated groan. "Maybe..." She was grasping at straws, trying to piece together the odd events. "Maybe...a Pokemon's love for their trainer helps them fight it..."

Not one to be contained for too long, Nibs busted free of his ball after struggling for a good hour. Fluttering down to Breccia's side, he stood next to her bed, offering love by leaning his head into her leg.

Laurent took notice of this and shifted towards the exit. "I see the Boom Bat got bigger." He saw this as his opportunity for a quick escape, talking to Riker. "I'll reach out to you come tomorrow, we'll talk details then."

A nurse poked her head in, grabbing every ones attention. "The misses wanted me to get you." She said to the other Executives. (As Kelly had left the room minutes prior). "There's been some complications..."

Riker and Sanchez were the first out with Breccia and Morice on their tails.

Kelly stood just outside of Stotler's room, not greeting the men when they arrived. She didn't say anything, looking off in a thousand yard stare.

"Where's Stotler?"

Another nurse was there with them. "I'm sorry...the doctor did everything he could."

This wasn't a sufficient enough answer. "What do you mean? Where is he?"

The nurse tried to lessen the blow, approaching Riker in as gentle a manner as possible. "The smoke must've been too much on his heart. We tried to find you but.-" She frowned. "I'm sorry, he didn't make it."

The severity of the situation didn't hit Riker at first. The nurse's words replayed for a short time, as if his brain couldn't process.

 _He didn't make it._

 _He didn't make it._

"I don't understand-" And for a second, he didn't. He didn't understand that his childhood friend, the man who stood by his side and trained him was gone. "I just talked to him..."

"Morice." He heard Breccia's voice, as if it were in a thick vacuum, far away from him yet still so close. He felt sick for a moment, then he felt his legs go out.

Breccia caught him, and Morice had already retrieved a chair. Both were trying to reach out, trying to speak and gain his attention, but nothing registered.

 _He didn't make it._

He heard it...like he did that morning he woke up and _she_ was gone.

And he heard Donna say it all over again.

 _I'm sorry sweetie, she didn't make it._


	48. Chapter 47

Morice and Breccia made it back to the hotel alone. Riker stayed behind with the other remaining Executives, still silent.

Kelly and Sanchez insisted they stay with him.

"Hang on..." The elevator still a busted wreck, they were trudging up the stairs. They made it to the second floor when the sharp pain in Breccia's back became too much and she had to stop, struggling to catch her breath.

"Just give me a minute." She managed another foot or two before leaning against the railway, exhausted.

"I got you." Morice came behind her, hooking an arm behind her knees and scooping her up in his arms. Clearly in pain himself, he struggled to hold her for the first couple steps.

"Morice I'm fine."

"Yeah, you're fine now, quit squirming."

Breccia wanted to argue further, mostly because she feared being dropped or Morice falling backwards.

"I need to call Riker first thing tomorrow." She said out loud,having meant to keep it as a thought. "See how he's doing."

"How about you focus on yourself right now?" Morice deposited her in front of the hotel room door. "We'll worry about that later." Fan-angling the hinge ajar, both of them limped inside.

"I'll be feeling this in the morning." Breccia complained, throwing her purse on the couch. "I need a shower."

"I think we both do." Morice adjusted the bandages wrapped around his upper arm. "You can go first if you want."

Stumbling to the bathroom once she picked a change of clothes out of her sparse wardrobe, Breccia murmured something to herself before coming back into the living area. "I'm gonna need help with the clasps." When Morice responded with an uncomfortable silence, she added: "Don't get too excited, I'm wearing a slip."

She was too sore to reach her arm around back and undo the zipper. On top of that, the buttons were welded closed. "Just tare it open." Her friend did as instructed, grabbing the collar and ripping the singed svelte material all the way down. "I hope Maddie doesn't mind. I'll pay her the difference."

"Shit." Morice cursed, getting a good look at the bruising on Breccia's back. "Arlia really did a number on you."

Breccia felt a shiver when his cold hands touched her back through the silk fabric of her slip. "Is it bad?"

"Understatement of the year." Almost every rib could be seen, hued brown, through her skin. It was as if someone took a marker and colored each one in turn.

Making it to the shower, Breccia found it a struggle just to bend over and adjust the knobs.

 _An attack in Isador_

Her mind raced.

 _I hope Maddie and the others are okay._

In the living area, Morice pulled his shirt off over his head, trying to get a better look at his own injuries. He was bruised too, though not as severe. The burn on his upper arm still throbbed, though the nurses did the best they could. They had to scrape the first layer off, a pain he wasn't very fond of. The term '3rd degree' was tossed around, meaning it would add to his every growing collection of battle scars.

"Shower's open." Breccia was in the bathroom for a collective half hour before coming out in an over sized t-shirt and shorts, her hair limp and knotted.

Morice was in the process of digging through his own collection of clothes when she got a decent look of him shirtless. She swallowed. "Y-you can go in if you want."

"Hmmm?" He glanced up. "Oh, that didn't take you long." He noticed when Breccia looked at the wound on his arm. "It's fine, just sore."

"No." Breccia motioned. "Your shoulder." There was a deep, protruding scar running the length of Morice's collar bone. Even with a shirt on, it was visible. (She was surprised she hadn't noticed it before).

"You've been in the slammer before." Morice chuckled: "Fights happen...had some nut ball come at me with a shiv. I didn't even feel it really, didn't notice I was bleeding until after the fact." He pointed to another, smaller, mark at his side, above his hip. "He got me there too."

Breccia took her comb from her bag on the couch, running it through her hair in an attempt to gather her frazzled strands. "I was pretty good about keeping to myself in the clink."

"So did I." Her friend defended. "He decided to seek me out. I was a young, scared, kid and all the other guys around us were too big to push around."

"How did that end for you?"

"I broke his damn nose, that's how." Approaching Breccia, Morice, gentle, secured her by the chin, getting a good look at the marks on her throat. He could see the outline of her attacker's hands on her throat, ten purple and blue fingers wrapped around her neck, crushed down on her windpipe. "Bastards." He swore. "If I had been there..."

"You gave them a piece of your mind eventually."

"Not when I should've." Scraping a thumb over her swollen mouth, Morice sighed. "After what happened to Tess, I could have been more vigilant."

Breccia moved in a little closer, welcoming when he placed his hands on the small of her back. "Stop it. You did the best you could." She too ran the tip of her slender fingers across the scar on his shoulder. "You can't always be the superhero, don't hate yourself." Locking her vision onto his, she never noticed how perfectly hazel his eyes were. Within them swirled a connection of orange and brown, as if they were a perfectly combined puzzle that was already solved. "The...shower's open." She spoke this, her mind blank.

"I'll take care of it later." Moving one hand so it was positioned behind her head, Morice pulled her in. Without warning or provocation, he brought her close before clasping his mouth onto hers.

Breccia didn't respond at first. Her thoughts fogged over into a jumbled mess and she wasn't sure how to decipher the situation. Eventually, feeling his free hand rub the length of her back, she went from tense to lax and fell against him, sliding her fingers up so they were resting on his shoulders.

Now, truth be told, she hadn't been kissed before.

There was a neighbor boy who lived next to her mother's in Saffron who pecked her on the cheek when they were ten, but that didn't really count.

Then there was her father, bless his soul, who ran off anyone who tried to court her in her teen years.

 _I wonder what he'd think now._

Not sure what to do, Breccia went with the flow when Morice took the kiss deeper. She felt her legs quiver, as if they'd give out at any moment. The muscles in her stomach shook and her grip tightened.

When his tongue gently coaxed hers, she couldn't help herself. She stiffened, a plank of wood in his grasp. Morice must've took notice, because he backed away, letting her go despite his warmth comforting her.

"I-I-" She couldn't speak, choking on the words like stones in her throat. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Morice muttered, glancing away.

He appeared agitated, something that put her on edge. Had she done something wrong? Was he mad? She didn't have any experience, was it obvious?

"I'll go take that shower." He spoke after a drawn out, awkward silence. "You can take the bed tonight, I'll give Riker the couch if he comes back in."

He walked away from her then, without so much as a cursory glance. Grabbing a change of clothes, he went to the other room, shutting the door and leaving Breccia in complete silence.


	49. Chapter 48

He was the last one to wake up. Riker never came back that night, so he was lucky enough to get couch space.

Breccia was on the phone, whispering in hushed tones. Despite said hushed tones however, they were enough to rouse him from sleep. On the coffee table before him sat a glass of, what he figured to be, orange juice and two slices of toast from the complimentary downstairs.

"Are you going to fly in..." She took notice of him when he sat up on the sofa. "How's Arlia..." It was obvious she was talking to Riker. "...we can drive, the grunts can take the other van...we'll meet you there..." There were other words exchanged before Breccia pressed a button on her Transceiver and canceled the call. "That was Riker." She spoke the obvious. "He's with the other Executives, says he'll fly in to Aurora after he makes a stop elsewhere. He wants us to drive the van back alone.

 _Alone._

Morice had half a piece of toast in his mouth and swallowed hard.

Alone with her?

After last night?

He was hoping he'd be hitching a ride with the other men instead of riding awkward three hour drive with Breccia.

It would seem though that he wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable about the situation because neither of them talked as they gathered their things.

This didn't stop him from helping Breccia as she gathered her clothes. She was stiff from her injuries and he wasn't going to leave her to suffer alone. He picked up her bags and carried them, walking with her down the three flights of stairs to the secretary desk where they checked out.

Letting their Pokemon out in the backseat of the van, the party set off for the mountains, silent save for Pecks and Nibs moving about.

Saying goodbye to the tropics, they were only on the road for about an hour before Morice had to turn the heat on. Breccia didn't speak to him once, taking turns dozing off in the passenger's seat and gazing out the window.

 _I wouldn't talk to me either._

Morice exhaled, hating himself.

 _I never even bothered asking._

No wonder she looked so terrified the night before. He just grabbed her and went for it, didn't ask, didn't make sure she was okay. Then he took one look in her eyes, saw the terror and hated himself.

 _She's probably pissed..._

Regardless of his fears, Morice tried to make some kind of small talk when they approached the first off ramp, turning into a small truck stop before reaching Naturra Mountains. "Do you need anything while we're here?"

Breccia answered with one word, a shy, whispered: "No."

 _Yep, she's pissed._

Getting out to stretch his legs, Morice took the moment to breath, well aware that they couldn't spend the rest of the trip like this. He had to speak to her. If anything, to apologize.

After walking around for a few minutes to work the feeling into his limbs, he sat back in the driver's seat, started the engine, then turned to Breccia with the intention of talking.

"I'm sorry about last night." To his surprise, she spoke instead.

"You're sorry?"

Lacing her fingers in her lap, Breccia sighed, as if her words were a burden off her chest. "I'm not experienced..." She swallowed. "Working with Dad all the time, I never had the time to experiment or anything. He was determined to keep me innocent. I haven't..."

She didn't have to complete the sentence for Morice to get what she was saying.

 _Just great._

He cursed this to himself.

 _I stole her first kiss without asking. Smooth move asshole._

"It isn't your fault, it has nothing to do with you." He finally said, pulling off the ramp and back on the road.

"I figured you were mad because I didn't know what I was doing."

"No, I'm mad at myself."

Breccia raised a brow before glancing to the back seat to check on Nibs. "What for exactly?"

"It was-" He knew what he wanted to say. It was wrong of him to just assume she wanted it, to snag her and pull her in without asking...but there was more to it than that. She was the head of the lab, someone with power. He was a pathetic grunt. The thought that they could have anything more than friendship was a pipe dream. "It was unprofessional."

"Unprofessional?"

"Look, I was just stressed out from last night and wasn't thinking straight. We both were." He added: "It isn't anything worth worrying about."

"Oh." He expected Breccia to say more, maybe argue, but instead she sat there, hands still in her lap, glancing down. "I suppose you're right."

From there, the rest of the trip was silent.

Just as awkward as it started.


	50. Chapter 49

Kelly and Sanchez were the ones who had to break the news to the Boss.

"Sir..." Kelly was gentle when waking him. He'd been relocated to a small, nondescript village in Galar, a place no one would suspect. The hospital there was small but functional, just enough to keep him safe and healthy while they went about their business.

It took a bit of prodding before he finally came too, groggy from the medication. When his blurred vision opened, and he saw only two of his four Executives, he knew something had happened. Something awful.

"Where are the others..." He stumbled through his words. "Riker?"

The remaining Executives exchanged glances before Sanchez took it upon himself to explain what happened. The attack, the mansion burning down.

"I'm afraid..." Mentioning Stotler's demise, he spoke with a fear that they may be in trouble for losing one of their colleges. "He didn't make it."

There was a strained silence. Both expected it.

What started out as a group of delinquents causing them minor irritation was now an issue beyond their control. Several dead, including a close friend. Dixon turned not only on them but against his own men. The attacks were growing more prevalent, more organized.

Breaking the silence, The Boss shook his head. "He was a good man."

"And Riker-" Before Kelly could get the rest of the sentence out, she was interrupted.

"What of him? Where is he?" The sentence came as a demand.

"He's fine." Kelly realized her mistake and corrected herself. "We almost lost him but one of his lab assistants stepped in-"

"Where is he now?"

"Back in Aurora, there was an attack in Isador and he wanted to make sure everything was squared away." She didn't bother adding just how difficult he was taking everything.

Truth be told though, it was difficult for everyone.

The entire situation was such a mess that Kelly half expected an unceremonious reaming for her idiocy in trusting Dixon to begin with.

"Who is behind all of this?" The Boss asked, his temper showing (much to the dread of his underlings). "You four were dumb enough to trust Dixon, Stotler's dead, there must be something to show for it."

Kelly started, cautious when continuing. "We're still in contact with them...the police I mean. They're questioning the men as we speak, we should have some information soon."

Perhaps it was the medication, or his condition, but the fight all but left their superior as he closed his eyes, his breath weak.

"Kelly." Sanchez pulled his friend over to the back corner of the room, waiting until the Boss fell asleep before speaking. "This is getting to be too much for him. The stress of it all, it's making things worse."

"What do you expect me to do about it?" Kelly snapped. "We're doing the best we can with what we have. I'm not even sure we can trust Laurent after everything that's happened." She sighed. "We might have to do a little interrogation of our own."

Sanchez crossed his arms. "If either of us make one wrong move, we risk messing things up worse than what they are."

"Then we'll have to take it up with Riker-"

As soon as Riker's name left Kelly's lips, Sanchez's attitude changed, going from cooperative to cold. "I don't see why we have to take everything up with the boy." He exited the hospital room, strolling out into an empty, dimly lit hall, complete with all the usual hospital trappings. "You saw him back there, after the attack, he could hardly control his temper."

Kelly rolled her eyes. "You act as if he has no right to be human."

"Human is one thing, naive is another. He's too hot blooded."

"As would anyone be in that situation." They murmured in hushed tones when they saw a nurse leave another room, strolling past them. "First of all, whether you like it or not, what _the boy_ says is law. You can pout about it all you want, that won't change a damn thing." She continued. "Secondly, even if you don't want to accept that, he's still an Executive. He still has every right to an opinion regardless of your opinion on him." She scraped a set of purple nails through her hair, trying to collect her thoughts. "If you want to debate him, do it when we aren't falling apart at the seams. You said yourself a few minutes ago, we can't afford to make any more mistakes. Turning against each other would be the biggest one."


	51. Chapter 50

"Arlia?"

Breccia stayed to herself once she and Morice made it back to Aurora.

Standing in the Lab, she heard the door creak open and saw Arlia poke her head in. Everyone seemed to be at a stand still right now. The police were trying to get a lead on who was in charge of this mess, the remaining Executives were still mourning the loss of one of their own and Riker was silent, refusing to answer texts or questions.

"Another injury?" She asked, expecting the usual when she saw the Blaziken come in.

Instead the Pokemon shook her head, her arms crossed and a glimmer of disappointment in her eyes.

Breccia didn't need any other assurance. "Riker's still acting strange." She said this more as a statement instead of a question. "Well, when he's ready to talk, he will. Until then I guess we're both going to have to wait." She knew, despite her position in the lab, she wasn't far up on the totem poll. What happened between the Executives stayed between them, even with her worry for Riker.

If he was determined to keep up the front that all was well, at least to his men, she'd stand by him.

"Have you been feeling well?" Breccia offered her Arlia a cup of coffee. "I haven't had the chance to check up on you since the attack. With how hectic everything has been." There was another nod. "I just..." She sighed. "I keep thinking of how things could've gone better, but we did everything we could. All this shit with Dixon, then Stotler-" She took notice when Arlia's shoulders lowered, her face falling to far more solemn expression. "...I shouldn't bring him up, I don't want to risk taring at any fresh wounds."

Arlia didn't accept the statement however. Instead she sat her cup down, casing her face in her claws.

"I'm sorry." Breccia placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know this is hard on all of us, but we'll get past it."

Trying to communicate as best she could, Arlia shook her head, pointing directly to herself . It didn't take Breccia long to put the pieces together.

"You're not-" She paused: "Blaming yourself are you?"

The Pokemon nodded.

"Did Riker say it was?" She was given a hard 'no'. "Good, because it's not. You had no control over what happened. None of us did. The only one who might have was Dixon and I'm sure he'll get what's coming to him."

They continued to visit for a few minutes longer, with Breccia's pep talk helping somewhat.

Maddie, Neil and Tess were called off, giving them a much needed day after the disaster at the Gala and the attack in Isador. Breccia was alone, and once Arlia left, she basked in the quiet while stewing over blueprints.

Fiddling with her Transceiver, she shook her head. It wasn't just Riker who was acting strange since they arrived. Morice was too.

Their conversation in the van, about professionalism, left her confused. It worried her that she had done something wrong.

 _But that kiss..._

Biting down on her bottom lip, Breccia tried to ignore the shivers along her spine.

She sent him a couple texts, offering to go out and get a drink at the pub. They were ignored.

 _Stop making it about yourself_

He was clearly frustrated by all that had happened, much like Riker. He may just need some time to himself, to get his bearings.

Her best bet was to stick to her work, keep an ear out for any instructions from the higher up, and wait for the others to come around.

"Come in." Back turned to the door as she fiddled in a desk drawer, Breccia didn't notice when Morice entered, beating the snow off his boots. Holding a bottle in one hand, he waited until she faced him before walking over. "Oh." It was almost as if he could read her mind, turning up as she spent every waking moment worrying over him. "I was just wondering-" She caught herself. "H-how have you been?"

"Fine." Morice said, locking eyes with her for a second before breaking contact and glancing away. "I'm only on break, but I thought I'd swing by and give you this." His gift, a bottle of cheap wine, was placed on the table. "It's light, I know you can't handle much."

Breccia read the label. "Thank you...you didn't have to." She pondered, confused: "What for exactly?"

Morice sighed. "Don't tell me you forgot." When she sent him a befuddled look in return, he shook his head. "Your birthday, you dingbat."

"My what- oh, crap. I was so busy with the lab I completely forgot." Count on Morice to remember a "momentous" occasion. (Despite her only telling him about it once). "My head's been in the clouds." Thinking this was Morice's way of signaling a want to talk once more, Breccia pounced on the opportunity." What are you doing after your shift? You could swing by my place, we'll share the bottle." She took notice that her friend refused to make eye contact, almost as if he were ashamed to look at her.

"I..." He paused, almost as if he were thinking of an excuse. "I have a morning shift tomorrow, I have to get to bed early tonight."

Breccia bit back her words, screaming them inside instead.

 _If you're too ashamed to look at me, why did you come here?_

She immediately scolded herself for her selfishness.

 _What if there's a problem? You're going to demonize him for being upset?_

"Is something wrong?" She asked, putting her feelings aside.

Morice shrugged. "Just tired. A lot has happened, I think I'm still coming down." He turned away from her then. "I better go, I'll see you later."

"I'll see y-" He was out the door before she could finish.

* * *

The shift ended soon enough. Granted, Morice hardly remembered any of it. He was still kicking himself for the show he put on earlier.

He knew better than to go to the lab. He knew it would just drudge up unwanted feelings but he also realized just how heartless he was, ignoring every one of Breccia's attempts. He got the texts and pretended not to notice. He couldn't bring himself to answer. Too much was going on inside his mind to really muster a response.

Still, he was an idiot, going over there under the guise of it being her birthday. He grabbed the first cheap bottle of wine he could find at the store, nothing special.

He figured, after ignoring her, just turning up would be suspicious. So, with the occasion, he saw it a chance to see her again.

Then he got one good look at her and realized his mistake.

The concern in her eyes, when she asked if he was alright...his heart jumped into his throat.

 _This is idiocy._

Heading to his own apartment, he stopped in the ankle deep snow, messing with his coat buttons.

He'd already over stepped his boundaries back in Travessia.

And besides, beautiful creatures like that don't fall for pieces of shit like him. Breccia was a jewel and his grubby hands belonged no where near her.

With night on the cusp, and the sky clinging to its last shred of daylight hues, Morice made it to his apartment building and was on his way up the stairs when his transceiver rung in his pocket.

"What now?" Thinking it was a call in, he took a look at the number, noticing Breccia's name instead.

 _What if something's wrong? You can't keep ignoring her._

"Yeah?" He was greeted by an incoherent smattering of words. Putting one finger in the unoccupied ear, he questioned: "What...Breccia is that you?"

"W-where are you?"

His pulse thickened. "Almost home, why, is something wrong?"

There was a giggle on the other end of the line. "No...I...just wan' to talk." She said something else that was, once again, incoherent.

Listening to the babble for a few seconds longer, Morice finally asked: "Breccia, are you drunk?"

There was a laugh, a cute chuckle that did little for Morice as if made his heart race further. "W-why you care? I have the right to unwand."

"Unwind."

"Wa'ever."

"Where are you at?" An all new terror took over when Morice realized, if Breccia was stumbling around outside, one of the lowlife grunts might mistake her for a good time. (And if that happened, Riker would have to jail him for murder).

"My place, where else?"

Morice breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Do me a favor, but Nibs on the phone." He turned and went back down the stairs, going straight to Breccia's apartment.

"Wha?"

"I said put Nibs on the line..." He waited, hearing Breccia mumble 'he wants to talk to you' before the transceiver shifted. "Hey, I'm heading over now. You and Koffing keep an eye on her, don't let her leave...also keep her out of the bathroom. With her luck, she'll fall in the toilet and drown."

* * *

Luckily for him, the door was unlocked. When he entered, Breccia was sitting, cross legged, in the kitchen, eating dry cereal from the box with Flora next to her. (The Sunkern appeared confused as to what was going on .)

"At least you're safe." Morice said, shutting and locking the latch behind him. Finding the empty wine bottle under the dining table, he read the label. "Three percent...seriously Breccia how did you manage?"

Attempting to stand, Breccia stumbled.

Lucky for her, her friend caught her before she face planted on the tile. She giggled. "I knew you'd show up." Feigning trickery, she continued: "You fell right into my trap."

"Sure." Morice said, still struggling to hold her up. "You friggin lightweight. I didn't expect you to drink the whole bottle."

"I didn't." Breccia muttered. "Koffing had some too." She wrapped her arms around him, lacing her fingers behind his neck. "But now you can't run. I got you allll to myself."

"Should I be scared or flattered?" Trying to pry himself free, he found there was no use. "Dammit Brec, let go. Lemme get some water in you before you start yakking all over the place."

Breccia rolled her eyes. "You're such a jerk sometimes." She let him go but scurried away, mocking him. " _I'm gonna ignore all your texts. Don't get drunk even though I gave you the booze. Why are you drunk, you're annoying."_

"Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that. And secondly, you aren't annoying. I'm just worried."

Breccia used her fingers to create air quotes. " _Worried_." She giggled once more. "We both know why you're really here...you know the lady's drunk and you want a little action."

"What?! Are you high too?" Morice closed his eyes, taking a much needed breath. "I'm just here to watch your drunk ass until you sober up, now will you please sit down?"

"What are you gonna do, spank me?"

"Breccia I swear to all that is holy I will tie you to a chair."

"Even better."

Giving up, Morice was about to make due on his threat and reach for one of the dining chairs when Breccia pounced at him, snagging his shoulders and forcing his mouth to hers.

In spite of her drunkenness, this was Morice's biggest fear when seeing her. The passion in their first kiss crossed a threshold they couldn't retrace and he worried about overstepping his boundaries once more.

Pulling Breccia away, Morice held her out a decent length, trying to talk his heart rate down. All it took was tasting the liquor on her tongue to know he'd be in deep trouble if he let Breccia have her way.

"What?" Breccia asked drunkenly. "You still don't wanna be around me?" She wasn't handling the rejection very well.

"That's not it."

"Sure." Sniffling, Breccia's eyes began to water.

Convinced it was the alcohol, Morice still felt awful when he noticed the tears. "Shit... Please don't cry."

"Not like you care anyway."

"It's not that. I'm just more concerned with you right now. Let me get you a glass of water and we'll have a seat-" He was unable to finish his sentence before Breccia threw up all over the carpet at her feet. "Son of a-" When her legs buckled, he caught her, careful not to touch the vomit dripping down the front of her shirt. "Should've figured this would happen."

Pulling a dirty button down from the hallway floor, Morice guided her to the bathroom, handing her the change of clothes and turning his back so she could get dressed. "I only have myself to blame for all this...shouldn't have gotten you that booze."

Ten minutes and another bout of vomiting later, Morice managed to get Breccia from the bathroom to the living room.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, throwing a pile of soiled rags in the sink after cleaning the puke off the floor.

"My head hurts." Breccia mumbled through tired eyes.

"You're probably gonna hurt worse in the morning."

* * *

When the morning came, Breccia had little recollection of the night prior. Stumbling from the bathroom in a haze, her top priority was a cup of coffee.

"Morning princess." Morice was at the table, his own coffee in hand. "It's almost noon."

Confused, Breccia had a hard time concentrating through her self- induced migraine. "What are you doing here?"

"You called me up last night, while in your stupor."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, you're an annoying drunk by the way. It was like taking care of a rampaging toddler."

Breccia rubbed her eyes, wobbling to the kitchen. "Sorry...I didn't think that wine would hit me so hard." All she wanted at the moment was a little dry toast, anything to stop the grumbling in her stomach.

"Well, it's my own fault. I knew what a lightweight you were when I bought it. I'll be sure to get water next time." Yawning, Morice tried his best to wake up (considering he slept on the living room floor). "Try a bowl of cereal if you're looking for something to settle your stomach. I've had my fare share of hangovers."

From then on, the two of them sat in silence. Breccia did as instructed and managed to wolf down a bowl of cereal while Morice leafed through the morning newspaper. After checking on her Pokemon, Breccia went back to her bedroom to get dressed for the day. Upon leaving and going out in the hall, she noticed her t-shirt from the night before tossed precariously out into the hall.

"Um...Morice."

"Yeah?"

Picking the discarded garment up, Breccia realized that she was, in fact, wearing a different shirt. "We didn't...do anything last night did we?"

Morice shook his head. "No, we didn't." He put the newspaper down. "Not by your lack of trying though, I'll give you that. You yakked down the front of your shirt."

"Oh..." Breccia said this as if she had no reason to distrust her friend. Though, one thing he mentioned caught her attention. "My lack of trying...please tell me didn't throw myself at you."

"Uh...I could tell you that, but it'd be a lie."

Breccia framed her face with her hands. "Oh my Ar- I am so sorry."

"It's fine."

"No it's not. Drunk or not, I shouldn't have put you in that situation." She tossed the shirt aside. "I'm usually not like that."

"That's what alcohol does, lowers your inhibitions, makes you do things you usually wouldn't." He caught himself: "Not that I bought it for you for that purpose. I got the lightest shit I could find."

"Yeah, well, you can always count on me to manage somehow." Tidying up in the kitchen, Breccia tossed the old liquor bottle away before tending to the few dishes in the sink. Afterwards she picked up what was in the living room before checking in on Flora (who was asleep on her pillow next to the t.v stand). "If you don't mind me asking:" She started. "What else did I do last night..."

Morice, who at this point was gathering his coat to leave, paused. "Well, aside from throw up on the carpet, not much."

His lie must not've been convincing because Breccia raised an eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. "You sure about that?"

"For the most part."

"Morice-"

"Look it's nothing serious. You said some drunk shit and passed out."

"Like what? Maybe why you've been avoiding me?"

"I thought you didn't remember last night?" Morice caught himself. "It's nothing, okay? And I'm not avoiding anything. I've just been busy."

"Too busy to answer a text?"

"I-" Backed into a corner, he did what he did best and shirked towards the exit. "I have to go, I'll talk to you later."

"No." Breccia shut the door on him before he could leave. "You'll talk to me now. It's your day off anyway, so don't tell me you have something to do."

"Breccia please."

"Please what? How hard is it for you to talk to me, am I that much of an invalid?" She frowned. "We're supposed to support one one another. We're friends."

"We were." Morice said, followed by an elongated moment of quiet.

Taken back by the comment, Breccia stepped back to give him a little space. "Were?"

Tossing his coat at a nearby chair, and missing, Morice exhaled, crossing his arms. "Yeah, were. Don't stand there and act like nothing happened... we can't carry on and pretend to be friends."

Breccia's brow furrowed; she didn't need an explanation. "So that's why you've been avoiding me?" She murmured: "Look, I didn't know what I was doing-"

"Will you stop acting like you did something wrong."

"That's how you're acting."

"No I'm not." Caving finally, Morice gave in. " _I_ did something wrong, okay? I knew better, I went too far and I'm...I'm sorry."

Breccia looked at him with a combination of pity and sympathy. She put a caring hand on his shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong. Neither of us did. It was just a 'heat of the moment' thing. We can move past it. We'll go back to the way things were, everything will be fine."

Morice batted her hand away. "You know we can't...I can't. I won't be able to look at us the same."

Breccia nibbled on her bottom lip. "Ok, well...What if I said I'm okay with more?"

"More?"

"Of us."

For a split second, Morice appeared to contemplate it, almost as if he were willing to agree. But, when Breccia reached for him, scraping her fingers along his wrist, he pulled back and put some distance between them. "This is ridiculous."

"How? You said we can't be the same. This is clearly what we both want."

"And you really think it would work? That we'd last?"

Breccia shook her head. "You're sending me mixed signals. What do you need?"

"I can't answer that."

"Yes you can. Just say 'yes'. It's thatsimple."

Standing in the doorway that joined the dining room to the kitchen, Morice ran a frustrated hand through his hair, battling within himself "Damn it... it's just, I'm nothing. I'm an errand boy. And you're-"

"No different."

"Beautiful..." He glanced away. "Your kind shouldn't bother... Some useless asshole like me doesn't deserve you."

Breccia frowned, contemplating the best way to answer. "Morice, I'm not that special."

"You are to me." He said. "Besides, with your position, I'm sure we'd get in trouble."

"No one has to know." Breccia answered back. "We're adults. And if anyone finds out, that's what I'll tell them."

"If they threatened you with your job, because of me, you'd be okay with that?"

Breccia shrugged. "Is it really a job worth having if I'm not allowed to be happy?" She walked up to him. "Now..." Grabbing him by the wrist and guiding his hands so they were holding her close, she added: "Lets stop making excuses." Much like the night before, she went in for the kiss, (this time with less alcohol involved). Still not the most experienced, she waited until her partner finally caved, pulling her in and taking the kiss deeper. "So, tell me." Breccia started, pulling away. "All that time ago, up on the hill, why didn't you kiss me then?"

Morice shrugged. "Its just...you were compromised emotionally. I didn't want to take advantage of that."

Breccia gave a small smile. "Well, I'm not _compromised_ now."

"No, but I am." He nibbled on the corner of her mouth. "You and your ulterior motives."

Breccia giggled. "You know me, always plotting." She laced her fingers with his. "Come on, lets go get a drink. Might as well enjoy the day off while we have it."


End file.
